We are proud to be managing the demolition and bracing of this downtown Saginaw block for the Saginaw County Lank Bank. Learn more about our Decommissioning Services.
Ryan Londrigan, project manager at AKT Peerless, said a structural engineer evaluates the building and, after some limited interior demolition to remove ceilings and plaster to explore the floor joists, the condition of the structure is assessed to determine if the structure is strong enough to hold together the building. He said a large crack already has formed on the façade.
“The face of the building is the part that seemed like further damage would occur,” he said.
Londrigan said the weight of the bricks on the building is been measured to figure out the minimum of what it takes to hold up the structure, and that is then doubled to make it twice as secure.
“The plan we came up with was installing some steel plates on the front of the building that would be tied back into what we call the wood membrane, or wood framing,” he said.
AKT Peerless worked with the Saginaw County Land Bank, DDA and the City of Saginaw to determine which buildings could be saved and if those projects were worth it, Londrigan said. At one time they evaluated also keeping the neighboring property at 108 S. Washington, but most of it already had fallen down.
– Annie Harrison
Demolition of downtown Saginaw buildings set for this week
