Trapp + Holbrook residents are getting a bird’s eye view of the demolition of the Front Street parkade.
The portion of the parkade west of Sixth Street is coming down – and it isn’t always quiet for folks living in the neighbourhood.
“The ramp on the west side came down. We felt the trembling in the building,” Rick Fabbro told the Record. “There was a moment when we wondered whether it was an earthquake or not, especially on the heels of that one not long ago.”
Fabbro soon realized the shaking was due to the demolition of the parking ramp at the end of the parkade. While he can’t hear the demolition work from his unit, he visits friends on the Front Street side of the building to check out the action.
“It’s really cool,” he said. “They have this big, what looks like a lobster claw crushing the concrete and ripping out rebar. It looks like it would be a lot of fun to play with.”
Fabbro supports the city’s decision to take down the portion of the parkade west of Sixth Street.
“It’s going to be nice and open, even while walking at street level,” said Fabbro, who moved to New West after downsizing and selling his home in North Delta. “There’s going to be some cleanup that needs to be done on the back of some of the buildings, but it’s going to be nice to have it all opened up.”
Mark Allison, the city’s manager of strategic initiatives and sustainability, said the parkade deconstruction is “well on schedule” and is expected to be complete by the end of June.
