PROJECT DETAILS

/ CONTEXT The Gare Maritime Champlain was a building rich in history situated on the shoreline of the St-Lawrence River in Quebec City.  Built in 1959 to handle the massive arrival of immigrants settling in Quebec, the facility was used to welcome travelers and immigrants arriving by sea.  During the 1970s, the Gare Maritime was converted to provide federal public services and became the largest such facility in the city.
/ DECONSTRUCTION Delsan AIM was the general contractor on this project with the responsibility of deconstructing the Gare Maritime within a seven month period and returning the land to its original state, which included the removal of the associated below-grade infrastructure.  

/ A GREEN PROJECT This project was a “green project”, using Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED ®) criteria for the recycling benchmark.  The initial recycling objective was 85%, which Delsan AIM was able to exceed by attaining a rate of over 90%.  The building had five stories with a total area of 20,085 square meters. The structure was constructed of reinforced concrete, which resulted in over 28,000 metric tons of concrete rubble.
/ SOLUTIONS Delsan AIM was responsible for :

* the service disconnects

* the removal of hazardous materials such as asbestos,

* the environmental management plan including the erosion control plan and waste management plan

*  the sale, removal and recycling of materials

*  the complete demolition of the building and foundations including the crushing of the concrete.

/ INITIAL PHASE During the initial phase of the project, Delsan AIM removed all the resalable assets (i.e. furniture), stripped the interior to maximize recycling and decontaminated the building.  The abatement and deconstruction were staggered and done simultaneously in order to complete the project within the time constraints of the aggressive project schedule.  Strict procedures were implemented in order to ensure the health and safety of our workers.
/ FINAL PHASE The final phase of the project was the mechanical demolition of the building, which was completed using specialized high-reach equipment.  During the demolition phase, Delsan AIM used a dedicated water truck as well as high-pressure oscillating misting fans in order to control dust.
/ ENVIRONMENTAL MODEL The Gare Maritime Champlain was the first deconstruction project of this scale completed for the Government of Canada and an environmental model for future projects.