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Week 38: Work Progresses on Women's Pavilion, West Wing Separation; Smokestack Coming Down Next Week

This week at the Public Safety Complex reconstruction site, there's a little of "this" and a little of "that" happening.

Two antiquated mechanical rooms at the former St. Mary's Hospital in North Knoxville are being demolished. Last week, Environmental Abatement Inc. crews neared completion of work in the Central Wing Annex mechanical room. And this week, EAI is back at it, this time demolishing the mechanical room in the Women's Pavilion.

Cleanup and demolition work is nearly completed inside the Central Wing Annex mechanical room.

Demolition inside the Women's Pavilion mechanical room is continuing.

Meanwhile, EAI this week also will begin demolition on the top floor of the Women's Pavilion, punch out the first floor of the Women's Pavilion, and wrap up work in the first floor garage area of the Professional Office Building.

The City is converting the vacated Professional Office Building, Central Wing Annex and Women's Pavilion into new office space to house the City's Police, Fire administration, City Court, Pension System and some E-911 operations.

Lincoln Memorial University soon will be reopening the renovated Magdalen Clarke Tower and offering nursing classes. Click HERE to read WBIR Channel 10's news update.

The iconic 1929 Building, which was the original St. Mary's Hospital, is being preserved. It and the entire north end of the site will be available down the road for private redevelopment, once the buildings that cannot be repurposed are razed.

Renascent, another contractor working on the site makeover, is making a carefully-planned precision separation this week of the West Wing, which is being demolished, from the centerpiece 1929 Building. Renascent is also processing and removing scrap, and Messer Construction is cleaning up debris on the site.

Renascent is also preparing for demolition next week of the hospital's 200-foot brick smokestack, the tallest structure on the site. The smokestack once was used to handle the emissions from coal-fired boilers, before they were converted to burn diesel fuel.

Alas, for anyone hoping for a dramatic felling of the smokestack, that won't be happening. Renascent will use a crane and a robotic arm to slowly and safely disassemble the smokestack, a few bricks at a time.

The hospital smokestack, flanked by the Marian and St. Joseph's wings. All are coming down as the site is prepped for future private redevelopment..

The hospital smokestack, flanked by the Marian and St. Joseph's wings. All are coming down as the site is prepped for future private redevelopment..

The hospital smokestack is flanked by the Marian and St. Joseph's wings. All three are coming down as the site is prepped for future private redevelopment.

Posted by evreeland On 13 November, 2020 at 10:13 AM