Initially the bid date given was for an immediate start, but the award bid date was delayed for three months. Due to additional delays with permits and utilities the work did not start for an additional two months with the owner’s request that Empire’s work was to be completed and demobilized based on the original start date given.

The project required four buildings to remain standing, one being the original historic chapel located centrally among all of the demolition. Additionally, three exterior walls and a tower of the original stone structure had to remain independently intact to be incorporated into to the new proposed structure. This posed challenges that only a well organized team could conquer. One of the walls to remain was attached to the chapel and needed steel shoring with foundations in place for the wall to stand alone prior to separating and complete demolition of the remainder of the building. The tower and two other walls also required steel shoring. To erect the steel shoring, a JD80 Excavator needed to be crane lifted over the four story building and placed into the courtyard to excavate for the footers. Next, the concrete for the foundations had to be pumped into the interior of the courtyard. Then the steel shoring was partially assembled in the rear parking lot and lifted over the building and placed into the courtyard using a 300 ton hydraulic rock crane. The four buildings to remain were completely gutted of all interior finishes and mechanical systems to make way for the future Reading Citadel School. At the rear of the property, the prestressed 65,000 sq ft concrete parking garage was demolished and the resulting concrete from the garage, footers and walls were crushed and stockpiled on site to be used as future backfill material. All other demolition debris was hauled away using dumpsters and trailers to our sister company Berks Transfer to be recycled.

With all eyes on Empire as the Prime Contractor the project was accomplished with a team of over fifty laborers, five operating engineers, four foremen and a superintendent. At one point in the job there were over seventy workers on site between the subcontractors and Empire’s work force.

Empire utilized the services of various subcontractors to handle different aspects of the project such as electrical disconnects, capping, and relocation to keep temporary power in the buildings to remain. A sprinkler contractor was hired to separate systems and maintain fire protection operation as long as possible as per city codes. It was also necessary to rework standpipe systems so that the buildings to remain would have fire protection until such time as the new sprinklers were installed. Asbestos removal was a major portion of this project with thousands of feet of pipe insulation in the walls and underground tunnels as well as numerous areas of sprayed on fireproofing and transite panels. Thanks to the expertise of the asbestos contractor and their staff on site they were able to keep ahead of the demolition process and assist in adhering to the schedule. Empire hired both a structural steel and a foundation contractor to help in the underpinning and stabilization of existing sandstone walls of the original hospital structure to be salvaged and incorporated back into the new Reading Citadel School.  Elk Environmental, a sister company of Empire Wrecking was contracted to explore, remediate, and secure any underground cisterns discovered during excavation.

In addition to all the subcontract work on this project, Empire had to complete over 200,000 sq ft of interior demolition which included the general hospital area, operating room and two large mechanical rooms. This had to be done without the use of motorized equipment due to the allowable floor loads of the buildings.

Prior to demolition, the first step was the remediation of all asbestos containing materials. This process along with the other subcontractors had to be coordinated to assure the schedule of twenty six weeks. By aggressive planning Empire Wrecking was able to complete the project two weeks ahead of schedule. This was possible because the Empire Wrecking team accelerated the pace by mobilizing additional equipment, with four excavators simultaneously excavating, hammering concrete, munching walls, and pulverizing footers . At the height of the project there were five sub contractors involved with the project and five different locations being worked on at the same time.

The demolition presented serious challenges. This was not a simple task as all of the buildings interconnected with other buildings – some of which were to stay and some which were to be taken down and still others that were to have just the exterior walls remain. This project utilized an experienced work force at these areas of separation. The only building that stood alone was a precast concrete parking garage. This part of the project was completed with the use of two 450 JD Ultra High excavators; a 300 Ultra High excavator, and numerous other equipment with grapples, hammers and processor attachments.

Empire completed the job including all change orders and the coordinating of additional asbestos, underground tank removals and over excavation of contaminated material and disposal on schedule. As always, Empire Wrecking Co. proved they were up to the Challenge

Since leaving the site the general package for renovating the remaining buildings and construction of the new school has been awarded to a General Contractor with Empire going back to the site once again for the final fit out as a subcontractor. This will consist of minor demolition, exterior wall openings, roof removals, new floor openings etc.

Penn Square Partners, the Lancaster County Convention Center Authority and the Redevelopment Authority of the city of Lancaster, the current building owner, decided to build a 300 room Marriott Hotel and  220,000 square foot convention at the former store site, and along the east side of the first block of South Queen Street.

Penn Square Partners put together a construction package to construct a motel and convention center.  The demolition of the buildings on this city block was put out to public bid, and Empire Wrecking of Reading PA was awarded the contract to remove the Watt and Shand Structure and several other structures to make way for the new motel and convention center.

Empire Wrecking mobilized with several pieces of equipment, a John Deere 330 excavator with a 66’ long reach boom and a Hitachi 450 with a 91’ long reach boom, and assorted other pieces to support the long reach excavators equipped with there grapple and shears.  Empire started on the south end of the project dismantling several structures by hand, working closely with the Lancaster Historical Society to save a piece of history in Lancaster.

The Watt & Shand sign, which was removed from the building in the fall, is currently in storage and may be reincorporated into the building, donated or sold, this is yet to be determined.

Presently Empire is dismantling the Watt & Shand structure, while a structural steel to stabilize the ornate limestone façade store front is to remain as the new front of the motel that is plan for construction.  Empire is carefully dismantling the six story structure from the rear working toward the front of the building.  They are removing elevators, escalators, and stairwells which all structurally tie this building together, which was put together in several additions over the years as the business grew.

Empire has to cut the structure away from the front façade by hand back to the first column line as not to disturb the front façade, as well as remove this structure which towers 2 to 3 stories over adjoining structures.  On the south side of the Watt and Shand structure towers or an adjoining structure that is adorned with a slate roof that is over a 100 years in age.  The project management and field supervision has spent many hours devising a method to protect the fragile slate roof and still able to remove the tons of brick above.

This is a project that the city of Lancaster, PA can be proud of when completed, as well as the Empire is proud to say they are happy that they had a very competent construction management team of Reynolds Construction, Penn Square Partners and the Cooper Carey Architects, and the Lancaster County Historical Society.

Tight quarters and a tight schedule were just two of the challenges Empire Wrecking, headquartered in Reading, Pa, faced when called on to demolish the seven story student residence for the Lancaster General Hospital’s School of Nursing. The demolition of the building was required to make way for a major expansion to the adjacent hospital.  The reinforced concrete structure, originally built in 1967 to house over 200 student nurses, had 117 dormitory rooms and contained an auditorium, laboratories, classrooms and a library.

L.F. Driscoll Construction in Philadelphia was the construction manager and Warfel Construction of Lancaster, Pa was the general contractor on the project.

The $325,000 demolition job began with laborers dismantling the interior of the building. Ceiling tiles, carpets, counters, drywall, flooring, it all went out to the trucks sitting on a neighboring parking lot.

Empire  started out by totally gutting the inside of all landfill materials. There were in excess of 900 cubic yards of material removed. When done, there was a clean concrete building that could be taken to a clean site for dumping.”

Prior to Empire starting to dismantle the adjoining dormitory building from the existing hospital which was to remain, there had to be roof protection built and the windows covered on the adjoining glass corridor walls.

Empire could now begin the separation. Empire began this process by lifting a John Deere 27 mini excavator, a skid loader and a Brokk equipped with a hydraulic hammer on top of the roof with a 45-ton crane.

Starting on the roof, Empire began hammering concrete and burning steel rods floor by floor, averaging approximately one floor every day and a half.  With operators and laborers working six, ten hour days, this was accomplished in just two weeks. Due to the tight time restraints, demolition on the front half had to begin before the total separation was completed.

Empire chose to tackle this task with a 125 ton crane equipped with a drop ball and a Hitachi 300 long stick demolition machine equipped with a UP20 concrete pulverizer. The combination of the 8” thick concrete floors and 75% of the interior walls being 10” concrete instead of the standard masonry and drywall, these two machines complimented each other well and proved to be the machinery of choice.

In addition to having to deal with the attached buildings, an active sewer line ran right through the building and had to remain functional at all time. The sewer line serviced the hospital and at only 2 ½ ‘ below the existing floor that had to stay, Empire crews had to work around that.

One of the main traffic arteries going through the city was within 15’ of the structure, so the crew had to deal with traffic and flying debris.

Empire’s instructions were to not even think about shutting down the street. On one side there was the street to deal with. On the other side was a parking garage within 18’ which required plywood protection, and the all the roofs had to be protected. It was a very tight situation that limited the equipment that could be used.  Due to  working in a residential area, there were  two fire hoses spraying water at all times which kept the dust down and made the neighbors happy.

Once the building was on the ground, Empire had a two story pile of concrete and the time was running out.  Empire assembled four trackhoes with hammers, pulverizers, and buckets. Trucks lined the street and the crews moved 4000 yards of tangled up reinforced concrete in nine days.

The main challenge, however, was working right next to the busy hospital without disrupting their normal business. There was literally an eight inch block wall separating the demolition area from the surgical area. The hospital remained in operation for the entire time of the project  and only twice did we have to stop for an hour at a shot because they were doing a procedure that required quiet.

To meet the tight nine week deadline, the Empire Wrecking crew of laborers and equipment operators worked six days a week, 10 hour days. City regulations restricted the crews to work only until 7 pm and no Sunday hours.

After nine weeks, an empty lot stood where the 46,000 sq ft, seven story nurses residence had stood.  “We finished the job on time and on budget,” says Todd O’Neill, Vice President of Empire Wrecking,  “the hospital stayed open, the street stayed open and no one posed any problems or had any complaints.”

Thanks to the dedication and experience of the Empire employees, the job was finished not only on time by safely.

Accordingly, Empire began the project with the removal of several individual buildings to allow for the construction of new support buildings and equine stalls. As demo of this initial phase approached completion, Empire swiftly began phase two of the demolition of the historic Penn National half mile dirt stockcar track’s interior and exterior concrete perimeter. Empire tackled the stockcar track’s concrete wall with a John Deere 450 grapple machine and a 330 with a digging bucket. In this phase, Empire hauled away 365 loads of concrete to its dump site. Some of the pieces of the concrete walls were over 28 feet long and weighed in excess of 20 tons, necessitating the need for a specialty trailer to haul the massive pieces of concrete. In conjunction with the demolition and removal of the concrete walls, Empire’s  professional team utilized a John Deere  330 to rip down the grandstand and John Deere 270 machine to hammer and remove concrete. When the “dust had settled”, Empire had hauled 15 loads of scrap metal, 365 loads of concrete and 27 loads of debris.  The entire process of tearing down the stockcar track and grandstands took approximately three weeks and was completed on time and within budget. This area is be used for future expansion.

Upon completion of the first two phases of the project and immediately upon notice to proceed, Empire commenced with the demolition of the main grandstand building. This structure consisted of four stories equaling 300,000 sq ft and was used for viewing daily horse racing, simulcast wagering and administrative offices.

Empire was afforded just sixty days to complete the project or risk a hefty $10,000 a day liquidation penalty. With the purpose of meeting the critical deadline, Empire mobilized their Hitachi 450 with the 95 ft boom and their newly acquired John Deere 450DLC also with a 95 ft long boom. John Deere, Plasterer Equipment and Lemac worked closely with Empire to have the machine delivered to the site and set up in time for the groundbreaking. The John Deere 450DLC  was one of the first  to hit the market and the boom was actually sent to Lemac for modification prior to this machine being released for shipment. This modification was exactly what was needed for the start of the job and to make it possible to meet the deadline. The combination of the two machines made quick work of this concrete and steel monster. As demo of the grandstand building continued, Empire also mobilized several loaders along with John Deere excavators ranging in size from 200 to 350 series to separate and load the enormous amounts of debris, steel and concrete further enabling Empire to keep the project on schedule.

In the process of tearing down this famous facility, many different attachments were added to the equipment utilized on the project.  At any given time, there  were two Labounty shears in operation to cut the steel to a length that would fit into the numerous trailers used to haul the scrap and debris to facilities.  In addition, Empire had  concrete processors on site to crunch the concrete to proper size to be hauled away in the triaxles and trailers.

Moreover, the project was staffed with one superintendent, two working foremen, and ten full time laborers. Empire had numerous laborers picking through the processed concrete to remove all steel and debris to make the material suitable to be used as clean fill on another project.  There were nine operating engineers assigned to handle the variety of equipment in use and there were  fifteen trucks on site to move the massive piles of  scrap and debris. As the targeted completion date neared, Empire was able to downsize its crew of professionals. At the end of the project,  it was determined that Empire had moved 3,000 tons of debris along with 1900 loads of concrete and dirt and 2500 tons of steel from the grandstand area.

The Empire crew worked five ten hour days and eight hours on Saturday. Work hours on the main grandstand had to be curtailed from 7 am to 9 am in order to allow the horses on the track for their morning workouts (any loud noises or amount of dust could potentially spook the thoroughbred horses.) Empire utilized the time to focus on the front side of the building, thus, ensuring that there were no problems or interruption to the horses’ daily schedule.

Despite the sizable project, the aggressive timeline, and logistical restrictions, Empire’s highly qualified team rose to the challenge, as always, and handled the project with expertise and professionalism. Completing jobs of this size on budget and on time is only possible by having good people within your company that stand up to the challenge and handle it, from the estimators, operations managers, operators, dispatcher, superintendent, foremen,  truck drivers,  and laborers. This is proof that it takes a true team effort.

Only 44 calendar days were given to complete the project which consisted of the removal of two large percipitator units, dismantlement of two 90’ incinerators, removal of two overhead cranes from inside of the building, demolition of the cooling tower, ash building, sludge bins, turbines and mechanicals throughout the incinerator and turbine buildings. With this time frame, it was  necessary for Empire Services to create scheduling that would allow the crew to handle this difficult project in the most efficient and safe manner possible. Empire determined the work schedule would be to have two ten hour shifts with twenty men on each shift.  It was also decided that the roof and steel beams were to be left in place to avoid any possible loss of time due to weather problems. This decision assisted in providing temporary lighting and a location for the workers to tie off when doing high work. With this workforce, Empire was able to meet the required number of days to complete the project. This is due in no small part to the crew assigned to this job and their dedication to getting the job done.

Prior to the start of the work, Empire was required to develop a dust control plan to deal with the enormous amount of ash build up throughout the building which had to be approved by DEP. This was accomplished through Empire’s sister company, Elk Environmental which washed down the entire facility and filtering all the water to prevent sludge and ash from entering the sanitary sewer system.  Air monitoring was done in the facility and employees themselves were checked with hand held monitoring devices.  A genuine concern of Empire is to provide a safe working environment for their employees. Any and all safety issues were addressed with the presence of  Empire’s  Safety Officer onsite. There were weekly Safety Meetings held as well as continuous onsite safety inspections.

One of the many hurdles Empire had to overcome was that the main building had to remain intact in preparation for the new incinerator. The first step was to remove the precipitators which were 40 feet above the roof of the one building and 30 feet below into the basement.  The percipitators were removed using our 95’ long boom Hitachi 450 equipped with a LaBounty MS15 shear. The use of specialized equipment and trained employees allowed Empire to perform within the confines of the job site.

The next step was to insert a twenty foot wide corridor within the concrete walls to allow access into the building. With the percipitators removed, Empire installed a ramp to gain access into the basement at which time all the conveyors and mechanicals were removed. This allowed the workers room to attack the main incinerators. The north wall was removed and the dismantlement could begin.

The top ten feet of the incinerator pressure vessels had to be burned out by hand so that the long reach could be used for the removal of the remaining portion of the structure. The main dismantlement of the incinerators required the Hitachi 450 with 95’ long boom and the Hitachi 300 with 70’long boom and LaBounty UP20 shear and grapples.  The entire height of the incinerators reached 95’.

During this time, several crews were working throughout the two buildings removing mechanicals, numerous tanks, the turbine, and the entire concrete and steel second floor in the turbine building.

Upon completing the incinerator the 8” thick concrete roof and steel needed to be removed. Due to tight working conditions, Empire decided to mobilize our Brokk machine equipped with a hammer.  This made quick work of the process.  This machine was also used to remove the roof area over the loading bins where Empire needed to remove and reinstall the concrete, steel and decking to gain access to the overhead cranes. The overhead cranes weighing 45,000 lbs each were removed using a 150 ton Omega crane.  The Brokk machine was also used in removing the entire second floor deck in the turbine building.

As the project ended, Empire had removed in excess of 2000 tons of scrap, and 1200 tons of ash.

From the beginning to the end of this project, Empire was responsible for all aspects of this job including safety barriers, OSHA railings, laydown area fencing and all utility disconnects.

The entire Empire team was commended by the GC on this particular project for their coordination of the various stages and the working well together on a difficult endeavor.

If it is a demolition project of any size requiring expertise and skill, Empire Services is the company to contact.