Final demolition work completed on 10 Murray St

THE biggest demolition job in the state’s history is over ... now work begins to transform the gaping hole into a public plaza. SEE THE VIDEOS

THE biggest demolition in the state’s history is over — with work about to begin to transform the gaping CBD hole into Hobart’s newest public space.

As rubble is cleared from the Salamanca site that was 10 Murray Street, the $10 million demolition job has been declared a success.

Project manager Shaun Wilson said the demolition had been extremely challenging, with its proximity to other buildings and businesses, but Hazell Bros had completed the job without mishap.

“This is the biggest building demolition project in the history of Tasmania. It has given us a lot of challenges but Hazell Bros has met them,” Mr Wilson said.

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The 10 Murray St site is now just a pile of rubble after the completion of the demolition of the 14-storey government office building. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE

Demolition of the old government building, which stood 14 storeys high, involved 20,000 tonnes of concrete being brought down and crushed.

At times the demolition came within 3m of the recently constructed Salamanca Building in Parliament Square, but there was no damage to the shiny new development.

EXCAVATORS EAT AWAY AS 10 MURRAY ST SHRINKS

The new Salamanca Building on the left may need its windows cleaned. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE

“We will probably have to clean some windows but that’s about it,” said Mr Wilson, from Citta Property Group.

The next stage of the project will see the site become Hobart’s version of Melbourne’s Federation Square, with the creation of a public plaza.

The public open space will be surrounded by commercial and retail spaces, including restaurants and cafes. It will sit alongside a new luxury hotel which will be built behind the neighbouring heritage facade of 12 Murray Street.

To mark the completed demolition of 10 Murray Street on Wednesday, Hazel Bros released timelapse vision of the 47m building coming down.

Hazell Bros managing director Geoffrey Hazell paid tribute to more than 200 Hazell Bros staff and subcontractors involved in the job since work started in October last year.

“This took a lot of planning as it was a challenging demolition,” he said.

The heritage facade of 12 Murray St. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE

Mr Hazell said the materials from the demolition had been stockpiled at the company’s quarry, and 90 per cent would likely be recycled.

DEMOLISHED 10 MURRAY TO BE RECYCLED

Mr Hazell said the giant crane in Murray Street would remain in place in readiness for the next stage of building works.

The heritage facade of 12 Murray St will become the entrance to the new Marriott Luxury Collection Hotel.

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Citta project director Shaun Wilson, left, Hazell Brothers managing director Geoffrey Hazell and site engineer Ada Espiritu at the demolition site. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE

Engineer destroys building in her first job

HER first job out of uni has ended in a pile of rubble – but for engineer Ada Espiritu, that means success.

The 10 Murray St site engineer graduated from the University of Tasmania last year, and walked straight into a job that will go down in the annals of Tasmanian construction history.

The 24-year-old, who is one of three female engineers working for Hazell Bros, saw the demolition from start to finish.

“It was really good experience being involved in such a high-risk job,” said Ms Espiritu.

It was actually her second job for Hazell Bros, having started with the company in its undergraduate program while still completing her degree in civil engineering.

The Murray St demolition was her first job as a graduate, and bigger than anything she expected to be involved with so early in her career.

Her role involved overseeing the instrumentation of the planned demolition work.

“It involved making sure the plan was delivered safely,” she said.