Small campus structure to be razed
By Michael Cohen
UMass Medical School Communications |
June 4, 2012 |
The brown house at the corner of South Road and Plantation Street, which has been part of the campus for decades but vacant for several years, will be torn down and the site returned to green space.
Demolition is scheduled to begin June 4, with the project completed in approximately 10 days. “It’s an old residential structure that is not suited for any future use on campus,” said Mark Armington, senior director for facilities engineering and construction. “We looked at the possibilities, and to bring it up to code for any school or clinical use would be cost-prohibitive. So the decision was made to reclaim the site.”
The structure was built as a two-family home, prior to development of the Medical School campus. It has had several uses over the years, most recently for the campus childcare program, which has since relocated to expanded and renovated space in the Shaw Building.
To prepare for demolition, the school engaged a licensed contractor to remove asbestos and other regulated materials from the building for proper disposal. With that work now completed, the demolition team will mobilize on site, remove any salvageable items and donate them to Habitat for Humanity for use in their affordable housing construction program. The remaining structure will then be torn down and removed. The contractor is required to recycle or reuse at least 50 percent of the materials taken from the site, Armington said.
The area around the building will be fenced off during demolition, but the activity will not disrupt pedestrian or vehicle traffic in the area. After demolition, the site will be graded and seeded.