Houston-based demolition contractor deconstructs 28-storey hotel.
Cherry has recently completed the deconstruction of an old Sheraton-Lincoln Hotel, a 28-storey structure in downtown Houston. The Houston-based demolition and recycling company has been taking the concrete and steel structure down—floor by floor—over the past nine months.
It has taken this long to bring the old hotel down because each of the floors had to be taken apart by hand and its debris lowered carefully to the ground. Workers used a tower crane to lower steel members and the former hotel’s elevator shaft served as a drop chute for concrete debris.
In the beginning of the deconstruction project, Cherry workers took about two weeks to deconstruct each 14,000-square-foot floor because of the building’s height. Then, as each floor was removed and the top of the structure became lower to the ground, workers were able to speed the pace to about one floor per week.
Deconstructing by hand is a tedious process, but Cherry and the building’s owners, Brookfield Office Properties, reasoned that this was the safest method. It would have been much faster if the building had been imploded or demolished through standard industry practices. However, these methods would have been far too dangerous and disruptive because the structure was located immediately adjacent to a 35-story office building and its debris posed a risk to cars and pedestrians in the busy streets below.
Because of the building’s proximity to the neighboring 35-story office building, Total Plaza, and its across-the-street location to a Hyatt Regency Hotel, Cherry had to modify its work practices in order to be a good neighbor. Workers were especially diligent about minimizing dust because Total Plaza had several computer rooms located in its building. Cherry used water sprays to minimize dust in addition to helping contain dust by dropping concrete debris through the internal debris chute. Further, workers strived to reduce deconstruction noise out of consideration for office workers next door and nearby hotel guests. In fact, noise surveys were conducted throughout the project and revealed that deconstruction noise measured only slighter higher than traffic noise.
In addition to height and building proximity challenges, Cherry had to protect the hotel’s three-level parking garage underneath the building. After putting routine protection in place, Cherry kept water out of the garage by installing a de-watering system. The owners plan to refurbish the garage and use it for tenant and public parking after deconstruction is complete.
Ensuring that nearly 99 percent of all deconstruction debris was recycled were goals of both Cherry and Brookfield Office Properties. Cherry, which is one of the largest recyclers in the State of Texas, recycled approximately 3,000 tons of carbon steel, 30,000 tons of concrete, 25 tons of aluminum and four tons of copper from the structure. Being green and a recycler also aligns with Brookfield’s beliefs in sustainability, good corporate citizenship and a strong commitment to the environment.
Removing the former hotel, which had been vacant for nearly 24 years, was Brookfield’s goal. With the structure gone, there will be a better working environment for Brookfield’s nearby tenants. Tenants no longer have to look out their windows at an empty building. In addition, deconstructing the building has helped improve all of downtown Houston and prepare the area for further development.
