Demolition has begun at 91 King Street in Saint John. A new development will be built here with a planned opening in 2023. (Photo by Tamara Steele)
A small crowd cheered and clapped as an excavator began knocking down parts of 91 King Street in Saint John on Wednesday morning.
In the past, it was home to Woolworth’s and in more recent years, it housed the Bargain Shop.
The building which sold several times in the last few years was purchased by Saint John developer Percy Wilbur last year.
The work has started at the corner of the structure which Wilbur called “the most critical part of the building”.
“So what we want to do is start in this corner and work our way in and pull the building into itself instead of falling away from the site,” Wilbur said.
Watching the demolition with a crowd of more than twenty people in King’s Square, Wilbur said the abatement process included the removal of lead paint and asbestos and spraying the interior with glue.
“Any dust and contaminants or any particles that are in the building are now glued to the sides of the building and the floor and the ceiling so that it will minimize the dust,” Wilbur said.
Demolition will take up to two weeks and about a month to remove the debris from the site.
A small crowd watching the demolition. Cheering could be heard as it began this morning. pic.twitter.com/yw6QNRuvfV
— Tamara Steele (@tamarasteele1) June 2, 2021
Wilbur said they are still looking for tenants.
“We’re in the design stage right now. We are trying to find a grocer or a pharmacy to occupy the street-level commercial retail space. Maybe a financial institution on the lower part of King Street followed by two floors of office/commercial and then nine to twelve stories of apartment buildings and two floors of underground parking,” Wilbur said.
Wilbur hopes the new development will be completed by fall 2023.
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