The demolition of the old YMCA building in downtown Lethbridge has begun (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By Justin Goulet

Crews begin deconstruction of old YMCA building in downtown Lethbridge

Mar 5, 2020 | 9:48 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – It’s time to say goodbye to the old YMCA building in downtown Lethbridge.

Contractors have begun the demolition process of the facility, in accordance with the City of Lethbridge’s environmental deconstruction guidelines.

This follows last year’s opening of the new Cor Van Raay YMCA in west Lethbridge.

Dean Romeril, Property Manager for the City of Lethbridge, said the contractor is doing some “selective hand salvaging”, which means taking out smaller items inside the building, such as doors and windows.

Following that process, crews will move on to the full demolition and tear down of the structure. During that step, certain building elements will be set aside for recycling.

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Romeril said some of those pieces include concrete blocks, glass and metal. 90 percent of the demolition material is expected to be saved from going into the local landfill.

Construction and demolition waste accounts for around 25 percent of the solid waste stream going to Alberta landfills, according to the City of Lethbridge.

Romeril explained that the City began recycling these materials over a decade ago.

“In about 2007 was our first major project and that was the Bridge Inn across from Park Place Mall. That was kind of a learning curve one, it was new to actually all of western Canada municipalities. We were one of the first ones to start developing it [recycling demolition waste],” Romeril told LNN.

“At that facility, I believe…we achieved a 55.4 percent waste diversion for the building elements in there. A lot of the items were recycled. Right after that we got a tight handle on it and we were able to figure out things right. Every demolition project that we’ve had since then – and we’ve had about eight or 10…we’ve achieved all over 90 percent of waste diversion for those demolitions.”

He said for the deconstruction of the old YMCA building, they’ve established a minimum waste diversion rate of 90 percent.

“That means all the building elements will basically be weighed and eventually diverted from [the] landfill up to 90 percent, so only 10 percent – which tends to end up being mixed debris, things that are very hard to separate – that will just go into [the] landfill,” Romeril explained.

The City has a strong history of successful environmentally friendly demolitions. Through the demolition of the downtown IGA building (which is now CASA), the City was able to divert 90 percent of the commercial and demolition waste from entering the landfill.

The Auto Appearance Centre Warehouse project on Stafford Drive diverted 95 percent of material from entering the landfill.

Romeril said they don’t have a firm timeline of the demolition. However, he said they should be finished work by the end of June 2020. Once the work is done, the area will become a public green space.

Residents are asked to steer clear of the area while work is being done.

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