All options on table for asbestos building

The Sims Engineering building from which asbestos will be removed, starting next month. Photo by staff photographer.
The Sims Engineering building from which asbestos will be removed, starting next month. Photo by staff photographer.
The Dunedin City Council is considering all options over the future of a 19th-century building laced with asbestos.

Council parks and recreation acting group manager Jendi Paterson said work to remove asbestos from the council-owned Sims Engineering building in Port Chalmers would begin next month.

The building, parts of which date back to 1880, was used as a storage area by the Port Chalmers Yacht Club until it was closed following the discovery of asbestos last year.

It was one of two council buildings set to have remedial work carried out from next month, the other being the Tahuna Park pavilion, which was used for storage by the council.

The asbestos removal work, to be carried out by Cere Environmental NZ, was expected to take about two months and cost $391,000, Ms Paterson said.

Work on the Sims building represented more than half of the bill, costing $215,606, while the Tahuna Park pavilion would cost $175,420.

Ms Paterson, contacted yesterday, said work on the Sims building would require the removal of the entire roof.

There were no immediate plans to replace the roof, but options for the future of the building - and any associated costs - would be presented to the community and councillors later this year, she said.

Asked if that could include demolition of the building, she said all options were on the table but it was too soon to say what the outcome might be.

The original building was built in 1880, and later extended, but was not a listed heritage building, she said.

The announcement came after the council spent $130,000 removing asbestos from under part of Logan Park in recent weeks.

The material was discovered as contractors upgraded playing surfaces and irrigation at the ground, leading to the removal of about 500 tonnes of soil.

chris.morris@odt.co.nz

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