Houston-based Cherry recently won a 2010 APEX (Award for Project Excellence) Award from the Houston chapter of Associated General Contractors (AGC).
AGC honored Cherry for its safe and efficient demolition of the Savoy Hotel in downtown Houston in October 2009. The City of Houston had declared 103-year-old building structurally unsound and a safety hazard. Cherry’s challenges included determining the safest way to bring down the old hotel without damaging an attached 17-story addition and low-rise structure, the City’s Metro light rail lines on Main Street and surrounding trees. Crews also had to move quickly to complete the most critical portion of the demolition in order to meet a rapid timetable set by Metro.
“We are exceedingly pleased to be recognized with one of our industry’s most prestigious awards,” said Mike Dokell, manager of Cherry’s Commercial, Interior and Residential Demolition Division. “The Savoy hotel demolition was challenging on many levels, and it was the perfect project to demonstrate how effectively we could work as a team and coordinate our activities with a large number of governmental and regulatory agencies.”
