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One Young (née Mayfair Hotel) | 5 fl | Complete - Printable Version

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RE: Mayfair Hotel - tomh009 - 05-20-2015

(05-20-2015, 09:52 PM)Smore Wrote: I believe the "fill the basement" approach was proposed by the geotechnical (not structural engineer) that was a delegate to council that hadn't been in the building, but was "involved in writing standards".

And those were not building standards, either.

Electrical engineers, chemical engineers and mechanical engineers are engineers, too, but it doesn't make them qualified to design or judge the stability of buildings.


RE: Mayfair Hotel - JoeKW - 05-20-2015

Here's a potato quality video I took of some of the demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzT7lcEGDUM




RE: Mayfair Hotel - dunkalunk - 05-21-2015

A few quick phone photos as I was walking by May 19/20 

[Image: 1278vbK.jpg]
My last photo of the Mayfair intact on the Mayfair intact on May 19. Demolition started about an hour later

[Image: Sy5rvHr.jpg]
Walking by on the 20th at about 5pm. Drawing a crowd

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Quick and dirty phone panorama from inside Williams

[Image: ooa4nOP.jpg]
Single photo, better angle of same


RE: Mayfair Hotel - Spokes - 05-21-2015

(05-20-2015, 05:00 PM)panamaniac Wrote: Seeing the Hymmen Hardware portion of the building come through the demolition unscathed (so far) leaves me wondering why it still needs to come down.

My understanding is that it has to do with the support wall and as the foundation of the Mayfair is removed, it significantly weakens the foundation of Hymmen.  Correct me if I'm wrong though as I'm not certain.


RE: Mayfair Hotel - Spokes - 05-21-2015

Thanks for all of the photo and video updates everyone!


RE: Mayfair Hotel - panamaniac - 05-21-2015

(05-21-2015, 07:04 AM)Spokes Wrote:
(05-20-2015, 05:00 PM)panamaniac Wrote: Seeing the Hymmen Hardware portion of the building come through the demolition unscathed (so far) leaves me wondering why it still needs to come down.

My understanding is that it has to do with the support wall and as the foundation of the Mayfair is removed, it significantly weakens the foundation of Hymmen.  Correct me if I'm wrong though as I'm not certain.

I'm not sure either.  Perhaps the common wall does not extend down to the basement?  In any event it was interesting watching the precision of the demolition - taking down the Mayfair without harming the Hymmen building.  The guy operating the excavator really knows his stuff.


RE: Mayfair Hotel - Coke6pk - 05-21-2015

Yesterday:

[Image: BZpEy3i.jpg]

[Image: c84VWQM.jpg]

[Image: jyMRhYF.jpg]

And this morning....

[Image: riG7tm5.jpg]


RE: Mayfair Hotel - panamaniac - 05-21-2015

Does anyone know - when a building like this is demolished is the brick routinely salvaged? I know some bits and pieces of the Mayfair are supposed to be saved but what about the rest? The exterior brick of the original building is quite attractive and not something that would be produced today. It would be a shame to see it all go to the landfill.


RE: Mayfair Hotel - LakesidePark - 05-21-2015

(05-21-2015, 07:35 AM)panamaniac Wrote:
(05-21-2015, 07:04 AM)Spokes Wrote: My understanding is that it has to do with the support wall and as the foundation of the Mayfair is removed, it significantly weakens the foundation of Hymmen.  Correct me if I'm wrong though as I'm not certain.

I'm not sure either.  Perhaps the common wall does not extend down to the basement?  In any event it was interesting watching the precision of the demolition - taking down the Mayfair without harming the Hymmen building.  The guy operating the excavator really knows his stuff.



RE: Mayfair Hotel - Coke6pk - 05-21-2015

(05-21-2015, 09:34 AM)panamaniac Wrote: Does anyone know - when a building like this is demolished is the brick routinely salvaged?  I know some bits and pieces of the Mayfair are supposed to be saved but what about the rest?  The exterior brick of the original building is quite attractive and not something that would be produced today.  It would be a shame to see it all go to the landfill.

I know nothing about demo/salvaging, but the bricks are falling to the ground (which I would assume would at least damage them partially), and at the end of the day a bulldozer just pushes everything up against the side of the building.  I'm sure there are few salvageable bricks... but then again, what do I know?


RE: Mayfair Hotel - Owen - 05-21-2015

(05-21-2015, 10:56 AM)Coke6pk Wrote:
(05-21-2015, 09:34 AM)panamaniac Wrote: Does anyone know - when a building like this is demolished is the brick routinely salvaged?  I know some bits and pieces of the Mayfair are supposed to be saved but what about the rest?  The exterior brick of the original building is quite attractive and not something that would be produced today.  It would be a shame to see it all go to the landfill.

I know nothing about demo/salvaging, but the bricks are falling to the ground (which I would assume would at least damage them partially), and at the end of the day a bulldozer just pushes everything up against the side of the building.  I'm sure there are few salvageable bricks... but then again, what do I know?

I'm not sure about those red bricks, but the yellow bricks you see around town cost $4-$5 EACH to purchase if you need to do restoration work (speaking from residential experience - so may be available cheaper in large volumes - I have no idea) - if they are worth anything, I'm sure the demolition company is salvaging them for re-sale - there's a reason that the Kieswetters operate both Kieswetter Demolition as well as Timeless Materials Wink


RE: Mayfair Hotel - Spokes - 05-21-2015

(05-21-2015, 07:35 AM)panamaniac Wrote:
(05-21-2015, 07:04 AM)Spokes Wrote: My understanding is that it has to do with the support wall and as the foundation of the Mayfair is removed, it significantly weakens the foundation of Hymmen.  Correct me if I'm wrong though as I'm not certain.

I'm not sure either.  Perhaps the common wall does not extend down to the basement?  In any event it was interesting watching the precision of the demolition - taking down the Mayfair without harming the Hymmen building.  The guy operating the excavator really knows his stuff.

Based on my limited knowledge of structure, would it not have to?


RE: Mayfair Hotel - realtyforward - 05-21-2015

In the spirit of demolition (pardon my sarcasm), with the Mayfair and Hymmen buildings being removed, part of me feels like the two remaining buildings should also be demolished to create the best redevelopment opportunity. The convenience store adjacent to City Centre's sale office is definitely an eye-sore, but I do appreciate the building adjacent to Hymmen (144-150 King St W). I understand that it is of heritage interest to the City (but not designated). In any event, there's an opportunity for some great density and master planning on that site under current zoning if the frontage from Young St to the Elements building was considered as a whole. Unfortunately, with multiple property owners with different timelines and agendas, that can be difficult to achieve.


RE: Mayfair Hotel - KWchick - 05-21-2015

i shall miss it.

so many things downtown have been torn down or converted or closed..

i am not a fan of 'brand spankin' new' buildings.. i hardly recognize downtown anymore.

it is a shame.

i know alot of ppl like to 'move on' and suchlike but.. i am not one of them. the past is being

erased.. and i cannot say i see any improvement happening.

when i first moved here in '83, there were two grocery stores; one where city hall was,

and one in the market square building (i am pretty sure)

as well, there was a hardware store.. woolworth's.. movie theatres.. the king centre was

busy with interesting stores.. in fact the whole downtown was busy with shoppers and ppl who

just wanted to browse.

now we have... how many pita shops? a couple sushi bars..

there isnt very much really to go downtown FOR anymore.

bargain shop is gone.. the td bank moved.. and even factories.. all gone or converted to 'lofts'..

it is a real shame.

anyway.. nice to meet you all. interesting thread.


RE: Mayfair Hotel - tomh009 - 05-21-2015

Welcome to the forums, KWchick!


(05-21-2015, 12:51 PM)KWchick Wrote: (...)  when i first moved here in '83, there were two grocery stores; one where city hall was, and one in the market square building (i am pretty sure)
as well, there was a hardware store.. woolworth's.. movie theatres.. the king centre was busy with interesting stores.. in fact the whole downtown was busy with shoppers and ppl who just wanted to browse.

now we have... how many pita shops?  a couple sushi bars.. there isnt very much really to go downtown FOR anymore.
bargain shop is gone.. the td bank moved..  and even factories.. all gone or converted to 'lofts'..

it is a real shame.
anyway.. nice to meet you all. interesting thread.

I moved here in '77, and went to high school at Cameron Heights.  Other than Market Square (which had Eaton's and Zehrs), the downtown core was pretty run down at that time already.  King Centre came later, but there simply weren't enough shoppers to keep those busy -- most people preferred to go to Fairview or Conestoga.  And the decrepit factories and run-down car dealerships certainly didn't make the downtown any more lively.

We now have a fabulous city hall, older buildings with a new life (Kaufman Lofts, Arrow Lofts, Tannery, Breithaupt), more people moving to downtown (lofts above, 1 Victoria, 100 Victoria, City Centre Condos), the UW school of pharmacy, LRT and a transit centre coming.  It's night and day compared to 30 years ago.

And there are lots of great restaurants downtown, both casual and more upscale.  271, Ellison's, Northern Thai, Holy Guacamole, Kinkaku, Twh Social, Niko Niko, The 41, Cheeses Murphy, Crepe Cafe ... and the list is way longer than this.

I've been waiting for the downtown to be revitalized for nearly four decades.  But I'm finally confident that it really is happening now.