BY MIKE PETTINELLA
For Video News Service
Dragging their feet or doing their due diligence?
The principals involved in the demolition of a partially collapsed structure at the Harvester Center offered different opinions on Wednesday concerning the speed by which the work is occurring.
Doug Randall, City of Batavia code enforcement officer, said the flattening of Building 8 is long overdue, while Michael W. Cole, attorney representing the owners of the 29-acre complex on Harvester Avenue, said that the building will come down once a final inspection by Randall is completed.
On Monday, Cole indicated that demolition would begin on Tuesday, but that did not happen The area has been fenced off, however, and apparently crews were ready to get to work.
Previously: BATAVIA/Attorney: Harvester Center Building 8 coming down on Tuesday – Video News Service
“The project is, obviously, a large-scale, complicated endeavor that involves multiple permits and multiple types of different contractors to do the work,” he said. “Yesterday we ran into difficulty because part of what needs to be completed for the entire site fell within close proximity to Building 8.”
Cole said he is waiting for city officials to “make the final inspections of our water and sewer cut and caps, and we hope that happens as soon as possible.”
“Once we get those final inspections on the cuts and caps for the entire site, we will begin the work of taking down Building 8.”
The Alden lawyer explained that inspections for the part of the complex outside of Building 8 aren’t needed to raze that building but “once we take down Building 8, we won’t be able to have those cuts and caps inspected.”
“So, we’re working with our partners in city government to make sure that we get those inspections taken care of. Once we do that, Building 8 will come down. We had hoped that it would happen yesterday, but in a project of this size sometimes those kinds of issues arise. We’ll just take it as it comes and do the work as soon as we can.”
File photo-May 2025
Randall, however, said Building 8 was approved to come down right after it partially collapsed in mid-May.
“We’ve told the owners since the day that building partially collapsed that it can come down immediately,” Randall said. “So, I don’t know why they’re dragging their feet. They received a waiver from the Department of Labor to take the building down.”
Building 8 is one of six vacant buildings at the Harvester Center deemed by the city as “unsafe” and earmarked for demolition, the others being Buildings 3, 4, 5, 20 and 21.
Randall said that as far as those buildings are concerned, he is waiting for the fire suppression systems to be turned off and the water and sewer lines to be cut and capped.
“This must be done before we can issue demolition permits for those other buildings,” he said.
The electric and gas service issues have been satisfied, he added.
Cole and Randall were in City Court on Monday in front of Judge Durin Rogers. The judge set another appearance for a status update on Aug. 25th and, if necessary, a trial date for Sept. 22nd.