City says Majestic demolition work ahead of schedule

The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen DELICATE WORK: Kimbo Dryden of Dryden Properties Inc. secures the recessed tile fountain located in the lobby of the Majestic Hotel's "red brick" building Monday. It's one of several features the city hopes to salvage before the condemned complex of buildings is demolished.
The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen DELICATE WORK: Kimbo Dryden of Dryden Properties Inc. secures the recessed tile fountain located in the lobby of the Majestic Hotel's "red brick" building Monday. It's one of several features the city hopes to salvage before the condemned complex of buildings is demolished.

Local artisans removed part of the recessed tile fountain located in the lobby of the Majestic Hotel's "red brick" building Monday, extricating the piece of nostalgia a week before demolition of the adjacent Lanai Towers is scheduled to begin.

Assistant City Manager/City Clerk Lance Spicer said the fountain is one of several items the city hopes to salvage before demolition contractor DT Specialized Services Inc. levels the condemned complex's remaining structures. The Lanai Suites on the southwest section of the 5-acre property came down earlier this month.

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The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen BRICK BY BRICK: An hydraulic excavator tears down the north end of the parking deck under the Lanai Suites Monday. The city said demolition contractor DT Specialized Services Inc. is ahead of schedule and plans to begin tearing down the Lanai Suites next week.

On Monday, the demolition of the north end of the parking deck under the Lanai Towers began. Spicer said the Tulsa-based contractor is ahead of schedule and plans to begin demolishing the Lanai Towers next week. The project timeline submitted with the company's bid proposal didn't schedule the demolition until mid October.

"Immediately following (Labor Day), they'd like to begin demolition on the (Lanai Towers)," Spicer said. "They're a solid two weeks ahead of schedule."

He said overhead utility lines in front of the building will have to be relocated to accommodate the work.

"We're working with Entergy to put up a temporary pole to reroute power away from the (Lanai Towers), so they can take the building down without any worry of brick falling on utility lines," Spicer said.

The Dryden family of Dryden Potteries Inc. was subcontracted by DT to preserve the fountain. Zach Dryden said he and his father, Kimbo, along with family friend Robert Benson, worked with the city Monday to relocate the top half of the fountain to the family's Whittington Avenue studio.

DT's demolition bid included $9,500 to preserve the Majestic Hotel sign atop the "red brick building," but Spicer said the cost of the fountain's removal and refurbishing wasn't included in the $1,037,500 demolition contract.

Spicer said the city also hopes to preserve sconces adorning doorways and exterior architectural elements that include the brick inlay above the entrance to the "red brick" building that has the hotel's name carved into it. He said the city hasn't decided what it will do with the salvaged items.

Zack Dryden estimated that the 5-by-6-foot fountain section removed Monday weighs close to 1,000 pounds. The three-man crew spent last week prepping for the removal. They chiseled away material around the arch-shaped piece, cut away old pipes and built interior and exterior frameworks to stabilize the fountain.

"I created a pallet framework that I overlapped with plaster so that it was fully supported up and down," he said. "It worked pretty well. No damage occurred when we took it off, which is pretty amazing."

Zack Dryden said he used a diamond-angle grinder to separate the top half of the fountain. As he finished the cut, a fork lift applied upward pressure to boards supporting the bottom. He said the top part was primed for removal after he cut through a series of steel pipes.

"It was ready to go," he said. "It kind of tilted back as the (fork lift) lifted it up in the air."

He said the top half was laid on the exterior framework he attached to the back. The fork lift picked it up from the side and put it on a truck that delivered it to the Dryden's studio. He said the bottom half should be removed by today.

"I don't think anybody was trying to save (the fountain)," he said. "Nobody thought they could do it, but we did."

Zack Dryden said vandals claimed the fountain's fish-shaped "water spitter," but Spicer said the Drydens have been asked to recreate the unique feature and recast the fountain's porcelain bowl.

The ruling from the bench Division 4 Circuit Judge Marcia Hearnsberger issued Aug. 18 dismissed Brenda Brandenburg's request for an injunction against the demolition. City Attorney Brian Albright said he expects to prepare the order this week, explaining that Hearnsberger ruled that Brandenburg's complaint "didn't state a cause of action for which relief could be granted."

Brandenburg, the organizer of an online petition to stop the demolition, argued that the city needed the approval of the Historic District Commission before it could raze the condemned structures. The "red brick" building was built in 1926 and included in the June 25, 1985, formation of the Central Avenue Historic District. The Lanai Towers and Lanai Suites were added in September 2007.

Albright, referencing another part of the statute Brandenburg cited in her complaint, said that the unsafe nature of the buildings exempted the demolition from Historic District Commission approval. He said the city's March 2015 condemnation of the property qualified it as unsafe.

Local on 08/30/2016

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