Cobourg Council is being asked to issue a demolition permit for a well-known heritage building. The building at 520 William Street in Cobourg, Ontario underwent an engineering inspection on 15thof August, 2017.
The building is identified as MicroLab Area 9 and is a single story-structure. It is suspected the building is in the order of 100 years old. Modifications to the interior have been undertaken with the final configuration serving as a food laboratory for Kraft General Foods Canada Limited. The building covers approximately 1,500 square feet.
This is a very old structure that has been severely lacking on maintenance while in an abandoned state. Currently the building has no heat, water or power and has had no maintenance for over a decade; these factors have been a contributing factor to the observed conditions.
Structurally the building is in a state of disrepair; the roof is failing and has numerous areas where it has severe depressions with active leakage. Without major roof/structure repairs eventual failure will cause the roof to fail/collapse. Failure of the roof covering has caused deterioration of the structural wood supporting the roof deck. Active leakage into the building has caused the various ceiling levels to collapse and deteriorate the interior walls.
The south gable brickwork above the porch area has shifted resulting in a large crack in the west upper brickwork. The concrete beams forming the structural support above the porch are all cracked and imminent failure is to be anticipated. The masonry columns supporting these beams have cracked parging, likely the result of water damage combined with shifting of the masonry gable wall.
The higher moisture level in the building and failed ceiling and wall assemblies have resulted in numerous areas where mould is evident. Based on signage in the building it is possible that biohazard materials may still be present and it was noted that asbestos is present in the acoustic ceiling tiles; working in this building will require PPE and disposal of the asbestos and biohazard materials will have to meet the Ministry of the Environment guidelines for such removal.
The cost to restore/repair the structure is estimated to be in excess of $500,000.