By Luke Voogt
Council has handed the former site of iconic 1920s building Belchers Corner back to its owners’ corporation following a $2.9 million demolition.
City Hall on Monday announced the demolition was complete and that it would pursue a total of $4.1 million in ratepayer costs from the owners’ corporation.
“While significant financial costs have been incurred as a result, the stabilisation and demolition works were vital for protecting community safety,” council’s planning director Gareth Smith said.
“We are now focusing on recouping costs through all appropriate legal avenues.”
Workers completed the demolition of the site in September before undertaking minor repairs to neighbouring buildings in the following weeks.
In mid-2018, following the discovery of concrete cancer, council evicted more than 20 businesses and stabilised the building.
Mr Smith said the city had prioritised community safety from the outset, installing structural supports and undertaking engineering inspections.
City Hall also engaged civil engineers to monitor the building and in December 2019 began the demolition.
The city spent about $1.2 million on stabilisation, reporting and monitoring of the building throughout 2018/2019, while the demolition throughout 2020 cost about $2.9 million.
City Hall plans to recover the expenses, due what it alleged was the owners’ corporation’s failure to comply with multiple building and emergency orders.
“Throughout 2019, we sought demolition plans from the owners’ corporation and its administrator, however these plans were not provided,” Mr Smith said.
Several setbacks delayed the demolition including the building structure being different from initial expectations and historical plans, according to City Hall.
The structural integrity of the Belchers Corner building was worse than expected and required additional safety and support measures to be installed, the city said.
COVID-19 restrictions and the discovery of asbestos requiring specialist removal further delayed the demolition.
Owners’ Corporation administrator Robert Evans said the organisation would closely review the costs incurred by council.
But Mr Evans said he was unable to comment further prior to a meeting of the site’s 27 lot owners tonight.
