The building at Armours Beach is set to be torn down after a contractor is selected for the demolition job.
“The building – the condition of it – is not good,” Gibsons’ director of parks Wendy Gilbertson said. “We’ve known about that for some time and we haven’t let anybody use it. It’s been a slow process, I was supposed to remove it before, but because people were using the beach area, we didn’t do it.”
The asbestos insulation was removed last summer, but there are still major problems with the building, including termites, rot and structural damage.
“We haven’t let anybody use the facility for quite some time because of those issues,” Gilbertson said.
The next steps are to remove the Gyproc, then the wiring and after that the roof.
“I was thinking, let’s do this bit by bit,” Gilbertson said. “A lot of the stuff has to be disposed of differently. Then I thought no, let’s just put it all out at once and have it dealt with.”
Some of the materials – such as Gyproc – need to be recycled in a specific way and can’t be thrown in the landfill or burned.
The subject of Armours Beach came up at Gibsons council’s committee of the whole on Nov. 17. Coun. Silas White asked when the demolition would be completed.
“I’d like to get it done before it gets busy down there again in the spring,” Gilbertson responded.
Chief administrative officer Emanuel Machado said Town staff are considering options for improving the Armours Beach site in the future, including the walkway, swimming area, parking and accessibility.
“It’s hard to have a good sense of that until we remove the building and see what type of slope we are dealing with,” Machado said.
Gilbertson has put out requests for proposals for demolition of the building. Proposals are due back in two weeks.
