SEA awards Civic Arena demolition contract
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The company that helped bring down Forbes Field, Jenkins Arcade and the old Kaufmann's warehouse on the North Shore has been tapped to demolish another landmark, the Civic Arena.
Despite a lawsuit filed by preservationists who want to save the arena, the board of the Sports & Exhibition Authority on Thursday awarded a $2.9 million demolition contract to Noralco Corp. of Penn Hills.
"We are confident in our legal position," said Mary Conturo, authority executive director.
Ms. Conturo said Noralco will need about two weeks to develop demolition plans. She said her staff would then review the plans and, if they're in order, give Noralco permission to proceed.
She said demolition would begin with asbestos remediation inside the 50-year-old arena, which the Pittsburgh Penguins and many city officials want to raze for new residential and commercial development. In all, she said, the demolition process will take nine to 10 months.
It remains to be seen how, if at all, that timetable will be affected by the preservationists' lawsuit. Filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, the suit by Preservation Pittsburgh claims that proposed redevelopment of the 28-acre site with federal highway funds would violate the National Historic Preservation Act.
The group wants a judge to declare the demolition illegal. However, Ms. Conturo called the suit a stall tactic at the end of a long, open debate about the arena's future and said the authority was committed to the demolition timetable.
The authority described Noralco as the lowest bidder meeting project specifications. In all, 12 companies bid, and six made a short list for serious consideration.
First Published July 8, 2011 12:00 am
