The delay-plagued removal of the former Deutsche Bank building at 130 Liberty St. hit yet another bizarre snag this week as a subcontractor pulled its workers off the site just days after deconstruction had begun.
On Dec. 8, with final permits in place, workers began removing windows and exterior facades from the building in a process the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center called a “prelude” to structural deconstruction. On Dec. 11, however, workers from the John Galt Co., hired by primary contractor Bovis Lend Lease to assist in the deconstruction, walked off the site.
Though the Construction Center would not comment on the reasons for the walk-out, the New York Daily News reported Wednesday that Galt is asking for $30 million in additional funding to complete the job. Bob Harvey of the L.M.C.C.C. did say that the parties were currently negotiating and that Bovis, as lead contractor, was ultimately responsible for bringing its subcontractors back to the site. He added that he hoped that the dispute would be resolved as quickly as possible.
“If it’s resolved quickly, [the reduction in work force] shouldn’t have a material impact on the construction schedule,” Harvey said.
Based on the current schedule, the window and façade removal would continue until early January, when the floor-by-floor deconstruction of the building would begin. The deconstruction is slated for completion in December 2007. The cost estimate for the purchase of the building and demolition is $207 million.
Several World Trade Center projects — including a public park, a new Greek Orthodox church, the Port Authority’s vehicle screening and parking facility, and Tower 5 — cannot be completed until the shrouded 41-story tower comes down.
— Skye H. McFarlane
