Michael Barrett – Gaston Gazette

January 14, 2009 8:00 PM

The demolition of the former First Union bank building in downtown Gastonia is moving along and should be completed soon.

“It should be down by the end of next week,” said Gastonia City Manager Jim Palenick.

The project is part of the city’s effort to build a new aquatics center downtown. The demolition of the First Union building was preceded by the razing of the former Fidelity bank building in December.

Gastonia hired local contractor John Jenkins Inc. for the job. It is paying about $300,000 to tear down the two bank buildings, said assistant city manager Flip Bombardier.

Efforts to dismantle the First Union building have attracted a number of spectators this week, Bombardier said. Compared to pulling down the Fidelity building, this phase is taking longer because of some required asbestos abatement.

Workers are having to slowly remove the First Union structure’s brick façade to access some “black mastic” material on the inner wall. Simply knocking the building down could release the harmful material at the site, Palenick said.

But separating and taking away the material piece-by-piece is a federally approved method for removing it, he said.

“There is no jeopardy of any kind from the material,” Palenick said.

Once that process is completed, the main building will come down fairly quickly, officials said. Afterward, workers will continue refilling and backfilling the newly vacant block.

The next phase, to be completed by the end of February, will involve pulling down three mid-block buildings on Main Avenue, including an old theater and two former retail structures, Palenick said.

To dress up the newly vacant space fronting Main Avenue, the city will do some renovations to make the space look “park-like,” Palenick said.

In advance of building the aquatics center, the demolitions are serving a purpose of their own, he said.

“We’re removing buildings that are functionally obsolete and would never serve legitimate redevelopment opportunities,” Palenick said.

But he also believes the aquatics center project is still on track.

“We have complete confidence the project will be funded and move forward, and that plan will develop as it has been proposed,” he said.

The project – dubbed “Big Splash” – calls for a $21.6 million indoor aquatics facility and conference center downtown. The city plans to provide the land and seed money worth about $12 million, with private donations and government grants footing the rest of the bill.

Fundraising will take place over the next 15 months. In the meantime, the bank demolitions are proof that the city is serious about the endeavor, Palenick said.

“The absence of structures there is going to allow people to see how large this site really is,” he said. “It will give it a different perspective and make people realize the project is moving forward.”

You can reach Michael Barrett at 704-869-1826.