Sheldon, Iowa — The demolition of a nuisance property on West Park Street in Sheldon began Monday morning, with plans to have the building completely demolished and the debris hauled away by the end of the day.
The building, which most recently housed a redemption center, had been heavily damaged by fire and was one of the nuisance properties the City of Sheldon had been working to get removed. Prior to the redemption center, the building had been home to K&J Cycle for 20-years, until they moved into their new location next door. K&J’s owners, Kent & Janet Lohrenz, worked out a deal with the City to acquire the property and have the building removed.
Kent Lohrenz was on-site Monday morning to watch the building’s demolition. He says that, since there was some asbestos used in the building’s construction, representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency were there to observe as Mitchell & Huss Excavation of George dismantled the structure.
(As above) “There’s some guys observing (to) make sure that they keep a dust cloud down, you know they don’t want asbestos in the air. They’re doing a really good job of hosing down the debris while they load it. They (EPA) are just up there observing, making sure things get done right.”
Due to the asbestos content in the debris, he says it is being hauled away immediately.
(As above) “The loads are covered and out to the landfill it goes. I think they have a special place for it out there. But in all actuality, the amount of asbestos in that building was very minimal.”
Lohrenz says his future plans for the site, once the building is gone, aren’t yet set in stone.
(As above) “It’s really uncertain at this time. My agreement with the City is, I told them I’d like to leave the concrete floor there, and possibly set a few of these small storage buildings on that for my own use.”
He says he’s impressed with the workers who are doing the demolition and haul-away of the debris, and with how fast the work is being completed.
Lohrenz visited the site for a while Monday morning. He says it was his first trip back into K&J Cycle since having surgery for prostate cancer a week ago, and he says it will still be a while before he is able to return to work.
A few images from Monday’s demolition can be viewed below……………………..
The burned-out building on West Park Street in Sheldon that formerly housed DJ’s Redemption Center, as it appeared before demolition commenced (File photo)
Debris from the demolition is immediately loaded into a roll-off container for removal from the site
Roll-Off container of debris is loaded onto truck for transport to the landfill
Two roll-off containers, no waiting
Working on northwest portion of the building
Demolition in progress
Demolition in progress
