East Street link: BT Builders awarded contract for demolition work for Rockhampton Museum of Art pedestrian walkway

A Rockhampton builder has been awarded the contract for the works to demolish the 100-year-old East Street buildings for the link to the new $36 million Rockhampton Museum of Art.

Works will begin on Monday to demolish and open up the East Street link to the new $36 million Rockhampton Museum of Art.

Rockhampton company BT Builders was awarded the tender by Rockhampton Regional Council in November for $591,010.

Local builder Boyd Hall has won State Rising Star Award at Master Builders Awards in 2019.

BT Builders, founded by Boyd Hall in 2015, has been involved in a number of prominent projects locally including the Mount Archer redevelopment, a new SES headquarters at Gracemere and the Mercy Community Centre at Mercy Aged Care and has won a number of Master Builders awards, including the state award for Rising Star in 2019.

CBD business owners were notified on Thursday by council staff about the upcoming works.

The notice states works will begin on December 13 and it will be a staged approach.

Initial works will be to remove the facade by hand, once safety barriers are in place.

Scaffolding will be erected against the two common walls to the adjoining buildings as works to the linked walkway will be carried out.

On Thursday morning, workers could be seen erecting more scaffolding/barriers at the front of the site.

A centre wall will temporarily divide the walkway, which will lead to Quay Lane.

Tenders for the works were released in October and the documents revealed the buildings, which date back possibly 100 years, would need to be completely demolished.

FINISHED PRODUCT: The demolition of East St buildings for a walkway will retain the streetscape facades.

It was originally planned to keep the facade of the buildings at 115 and 119 East Street, however the buildings have since been deemed “beyond economic repair”.

The buildings are not on the heritage register.

The two-storey double brick building at 115 East Street, which formerly housed stores such as Tables and Tots, Dixons Cameras and Brad’s Bargain Box, is believed to have been constructed in the early 1900s.

The single storey double brick building at 119 East Street, previously home to Brunches and Creatapotata, was constructed around the 1950s.

A report with the tender document that dates back to 2017, states the buildings have suffered structural damage, with the noticeable damage to have only occurred in the past two to three years, believed to be because of changes to ground condition, moisture and bearing capacity.

The 2017 report stated if the facade of 119 East Street was to be kept, additional support would be needed.

Photos in the report show cracks in the facade front, concrete flooring and walls, holes in the awnings, bowing in the roofs, water damage and leaks running down the walls.

The link will be opened to the public in early 2022, when the Rockhampton Museum of Art officially opens.