The Hollingsworth arena has been slated for demolition for months, and the process was reportedly set to begin during the second week of December. Yet the building is still standing, so what's going on?
According to director of engineering services Rachel Prudhomme, the contractor hired to do the demolition is currently focusing on the necessary work inside the building on Patterson Street before it can be torn down.
"This work is slow and requires care because of the nature of the hazards to be found inside," she said.
Some of this interior work has included removing ammonia and glycol from the arena's ice cooling system. The substances have been drained and put into drums so it can be used at other municipal ice pads in town.
"They also took out some asbestos that was found on indoor drain pipes. They removed electrical components inside the building and have disconnected all water services," said Prudhomme.
"They needed to leave the site and wait for the gas company to come out to disconnect the natural gas services."
Over the next month, all the internal demolition work at the former arena should be complete, then the visible work of demolishing the building using heavy equipment will begin.
Once the arena is demolished, the land it sits on will be put to other uses. The arena was decommissioned and a portion of the property has been sold for a condominium project, while the town has retained the remainder so it can be turned into a public park.
