St. John seeks contractor to raze Cold Storage building

The Cold Storage building in St. John may finally be seeing its last days.

St. John city officials are advertising for someone to tear down the building which has become a liability, according to town Clerk Linda Hayes.

She said not only is the building full of asbestos, the roof is close to caving in.

Paul Sands of Spokane donated the building to the city of St. John in April of 2013. Sands acquired the building from Bob Thompson, the last operator of market.

“We were hoping to sell it, and there was a guy who was interested in buying it, but when he found out how much asbestos must be removed, he said it would cost him too much,” Hayes said. “We knew the building was in terrible shape, but we hoped someone could buy it.”

Hayes also said the building went through an inspection which located asbestos in the building.

According to Hayes the building housed a grocery store for years which was operated by Joe and Ted Freeman. She said it was built in the 1920s or 1930s and didn’t start out as a grocery store. According to city records, the last year the building was a grocery store was in 2010.

Hayes said she has no idea what the cost of demolishing the building will be.

She added the city council has made no decision about the future of the site once the building is gone.

“We just want to tear it down,” she said.

Bids for demolition of the building will be opened by the council Oct. 9.

According to the state Department of Labor & Industries, asbestos is a name for several fibrous materials used in many industrial and building products.

However, asbestos is extremely hazardous to workers handling it and to others in the area when it gets into the air and is inhaled. Asbestos is a carcinogen that causes lung cancer and mesothelioma.

Some common uses are insulation on boilers, piping and other mechanical systems, fireproofing material and other uses.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has banned many asbestos products.

L&I also states that asbestos has been widely used in many building products because of its strength and chemical and thermal resistance.

Asbestos removal contractors who handle or removes asbestos in Washington must be certified and also must notify L&I of any asbestos abatement projects they are undertaking.