Tearing down homes, building community
At Cary demolition site, Habitat salvages wood that will be recycled

By Wendy Lemus, Cary News Staff

– As part of its ongoing commitment to the environment, the Town of Cary and its contractor, Global Earthworks, Inc., have joined with Habitat for Humanity to recycle more than 10 tons of materials coming from the removal of several old apartment buildings.

Now through, workers from Habitat for Humanity assisting Global Earthwork. in demolishing and collecting reusable items from three apartment buildings at 320 South Walker St.  The apartments are being removed to pave the way for Cary’s new downtown park and Town square. As part of the demolition, Habitat volunteers are working side by side with the Town’s contractor to remove usable wood from the apartment buildings for resale in the Habitat Restore, which supports the home building mission in Wake County.  Global Earthworks is also recycling brick and concrete from the project by taking the material off-site, grinding the material and re-using it.  The debris that is not recycled will be taken to a certified landfill in accordance with all federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

“We’re pleased to collaborate with our contractor and Habitat for Humanity to recycle materials that would have otherwise been sent to a landfill,” said Ricky Campbell, Cary ’s Real Estate Specialist.  “This project not only helps to protect our finite natural resources, but it will also provide our community with long-term recreational benefits through the eventual development of a downtown park..”

"We appreciate the opportunity to partner again with the Town of Cary. This is such an important effort that not only protects our environment but also provides resources that will enable more homeownership opportunities for low wealth families," said Woody Yates, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Wake County. 

The Town Center Area Plan, adopted by the Cary Town Council in 2001 and the Town Center Civic & Cultural Arts Study approved in 2006, calls for a downtown park since less than 1.5 percent of downtown currently is publicly accessible recreation space.  The recommended location for a park was within the block of South Academy , Walnut, Walker and Park streets.  To carry out the Council’s vision, the Town paid $3.3 million to acquire properties at 115 Walnut St., 121 Walnut St., 319 South Academy St. and 300, 302, 316, 320 and 328 South Walker Street; the Town also paid $123,100 in relocation expenses as five of the eight properties were occupied.

When the downtown park is complete, it will be approximately 8 acres in size.

For more, visit Town Center Civic & Cultural Arts Study at www.townofcary.org or Habitat Wake at www.habitatwake.org.          

Habitat for Humanity is well known for its efforts to build housing for low-income families.

But a recent demolition project in Cary shows that the nonprofit organization has also become a real friend of the environment.

At the request of — and with help from — Raleigh-based Global Earthworks Inc., Habitat recently hauled more than 10 tons of building materials from three apartment buildings on South Walker Street. The materials — oak flooring and wood framing — will eventually be sold at Habitat Wake’s resale store and reused.

The partnerships that Habitat has formed with both commercial and residential clients not only keep materials from ending up in landfills, but they also help people looking for low-cost construction materials.

Those sales in turn pay for the building of more Habitat homes.

“We salvaged quite a bit of oak flooring. We also salvaged close to 60 percent of the framing” from the South Walker Street apartments, said Joel Lubell, deconstruction manager for Habitat of Wake County.

Paul Parker, vice president of Global Earthworks, said once his company got on site he saw an opportunity to salvage some of the building materials. He called Habitat.

“There is so much material that is usable — where there is a will there is a way,” Parker said.

Parker said he started Global Earthworks about three years ago with a vision for helping the environment. He soon realized that salvaging materials, or “deconstructions,” take more time than simply demolishing a building. And often demolition contractors are put under tight time constraints.

“It’s quicker to take it to a landfill,” Parker said. “I could have been done a week ago” had he not called Habitat.

But Parker said he feels it’s worth taking the extra time to recycle.

Parker also has purchased a crushing machine for brick and concrete, which can eventually be reused as a decorative mulch or base for roadways. The South Walker Street apartments were purchased by the Town of Cary for a future downtown park with a recommended location within the block of South Academy, Walnut, Walker and Park streets. The park is part of the 2001 Town Center Area Plan.

The town hired Global Earthworks in September for the apartment demolition. Town real estate specialist Ricky Campbell said it’s the first time he’s aware of that town property has been involved in a large-scale salvage operation.

Campbell said nonprofits such as Habitat — interested in the salvage opportunities — have bid on town jobs in the past but must meet specific bid criteria.

Global Earthworks got the bid because it met all town criteria; it finished the apartments earlier this month.

Campbell agreed with Parker that time constraints often limit what can be done during a demolition; Global Earthworks’ contract time was 30 days. The town gave them a week extension when Habitat got involved.

“We’re big into recycling so of course we encourage that,” Campbell said.

Property owners, the Town of Cary included, often want the job done quickly because of vandalism on vacant sites as well as liability issues.

Copper piping had been stolen and windows busted at the South Walker Street apartments, Campbell said.

Campbell said the town would be willing to negotiate a longer contract time on future jobs if bidders offer deconstruction as an alternative.

Both Parker and Lubell said they think governments need to offer more positive incentives to encourage deconstructions instead of demolitions.

Parker said he’s getting ready to start a project that is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified, meaning 50 percent of the materials must be recycled.

“Europe and the West Coast are way ahead of this area,” Parker said.

“If you want to be philosophical about it, [recycling is] better for our children’s future,” Parker said.

Nancy Keyes

531 East Franklin Street

Raleigh, NC27604

J Williams

734 Highway 70

Dear Sir or Madam:

It is our great pleasure to inform you that  Paul Parker of Global Earthworks has been instrumental in allowing us to continue our restoration of a late nineteenth century home in Carteret County, North Carolina. Through their conscientious efforts in recycling viable, usable construction materials, we are now able to go forward with our salvage of a historically significant house in the coastal community of  Davis, NC.

Global Earthworks allowed us on site, under strict supervision, to save and package thirty contractor bags of R15 insulation that was clean, dry, and rodent-dropping free. In addition we were able to salvage several hundred brick for a patio that are over one hundred years old. During a subsequent visit, again under rigid safety regulations, we were able to retrieve enough two by fours to restore the old kitchen in the older part of the house, plus a utility room and a pantry. This lumber has already been taken to the site in Davis, cleaned of all the nails and sheet-rock screws, and is stacked and ready to be used.

Again, we can not be more appreciative to Paul Parker and Global Earthworks for allowing us to renew the Leland Piner Home in a small, old community such as Davis, NC. We are also very aware that it would have been easier for Global Earthworks to bulldoze the entire site and send it to the Wake County landfill. We are thankful that we are able to reuse building materials in this endeavor.

We encourage you to support Global Earthworks in their environmental projects.

Sincerely,

Keys and Jay Williams