By Daniel Green

Situated at the easternmost point of the Australian mainland, Byron Bay is one of the nations’ most sought after holiday destinations. Sadly, the effects of COVID-19 pandemic still remain and many once-thriving businesses are no more. The famed Holiday Village on Johnson street is a prime example. The facility was inoperable during the pandemic and fell into disrepair, slating it for full demolition. Throughout 39 years of continuous operation this local landmark bore witness to the trails and tribulations of the famed region. But all good things must come to an end and the structures that stand on 116 – 118 Jonson Street are coming down.

Aiming to accommodate a typical Byron Bay vacationer, property developer Podia’s vision for the ailing entity is for 41 serviced apartments, retail facilities and parking for both. Adjacent to the recently finished chic Jonson Lane the new apartments will also boast a rooftop pool, lighthouse views and a five minute walk to Main Beach. The Sydney based developer has contracted well known Lahey Constructions, also from Sydney.

With DA approval arriving on 22 August this year, Lahey wasted no time in finding a suitable demolition contractor local to the Northern Rivers area. However, long before visitors find themselves booking a short stay in the architecturally designed space – much demolition work is scheduled and Perfect is the one to Get It Done.

The building footprint consists of three two-storey accommodation structures, approximately 100 palm trees and various other minor construction. Initial assessments found bonded asbestos, bulk first floor masonry construction, bulk second story timber construction and a tiled roof. Deeper investigation yielded friable asbestos in the form of paperbacked vinyl flooring in four kitchens.

With this in mind, Perfect Northern Rivers GM Tim Ifopo mobilised the troops for the following scope of works:

• Friable asbestos vinyl flooring removal in encapsulated work area, complete with mobile decontamination unit.
• Soft strip out of all interior linings and wet areas.
• Top down dismantling of timber and steel roof structure with segregation and recycling of like materials.
• Demolition and recycling of remaining second storey structure.
• Structural demolition of between floor slabs.
• Final demolition of lower floor walls and floor slabs.

With bulk masonry products seemingly going to waste and environmental impact front of mind for all three contractors – an elegant solution was found in the form of a mobile concrete crusher. Instead of sending it away for tipping, this autonomous device turns concrete, brick and tile to rubble – material that will be used to build a hardstand for future construction. This outcome is advantageous in many ways:

• Offsite transfer of waste masonry material now unnecessary, saving in time, money and environmental impact.
• Purchasing and shipping in base material to build a hardstand now also unnecessary, saving in time, money and environmental impact.
• The final phase of construction will see asphalt laid directly over the crushed concrete hardstand for visitor parking.

Utilising Perfect’s local excavator fleet of 30t, 15t and 5t machines as well as a Positrack, the project will employ 15 perfect demolition professionals for two months as on November 12th this year. The aim is to hand over a remediated block in early January 2023.

Perfect Northern Rivers Demolition and Asbestos Removal.

We Get It Done.

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