The Trail Mercantile. Eaton’s. The Town Square Mall. Liquidation World.
The city-owned building at 900 Spokane Street has been known by all of those names since 1917. But within a few weeks it will be no more.
Demolition of the block began in earnest on Saturday. As of Tuesday morning, the entire northwest side was gone, exposing the building’s guts.
Garrett White, vice-president of Kootenay operations for Local Industrial Partners, which holds the demolition contract, said some of the material will be salvaged, including joists and beams. He said they would be set aside for future use once nails are removed, although he didn’t know what the City of Trail had in mind for them.
The company is primarily a metal recycler, with a facility in Genelle.
“So all the metal that is easily removed is going to be taken to our yard and recycled for remelt,” White said. “We’re trying to do this strategically so that we’re saving materials that can be salvaged and everything else will be disposed of properly.”
White said all of the abatement work has been completed. The transit exchange outside the building has also been relocated further down Cedar Avenue.
“We’re trying to provide the most limited disruption to the downtown core of Trail and make sure everybody is aware of what we’re doing and keeping out of harm’s way,” he said. “We’re running our dust suppression to make sure that we’re not affecting anybody’s air quality.”
White asked that people respect the construction zone and flaggers. One lane of Spokane Street is presently closed.
The City of Trail received the old department store in a 2024 donation and awarded a demolition contract this past spring worth $1.75 million to remove the building along with the old C.S. Williams Clinic further down the street. The latter is already gone.
Council was told in August that the demolition was about a month behind schedule and overbudget due to the discovery of more hazardous materials during the pre-demolition phase, although no figures have been provided.
The city now expects the project to wrap up around Nov. 19. Plans to redevelop both sites, but no specific project has yet been proposed. In the short-term, both sites will likely become parking lots.
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