A Castlegar city councillor says she “did the happy dance” as she watched the Eremenko Block come down late last month.
“That’s been a project that’s been on our radar for a very long time, so kudos to everybody involved,” Cherryl MacLeod told her fellow councillors.
“Sad but true, this looks so much better now that it’s done and we finally have that box checked. So congratulations to mayor and council, because I think that was a huge undertaking on our behalf. And lots of people, I think, now are seeing our vision for what could be downtown now that that eyesore is gone.”
The city bought the property in 2021 with plans to develop a mixed-use project on the site, including the new home of the Kootenay Gallery plus housing. The gallery has since purchased a different building across the street, but the city still hopes to build housing on the Eremenko site.
The Eremenko block was designed by prominent West Kootenay architect Bill Williams and built in 1947-48 as a department store known as A. Eremenko & Co. The building was later home to Columbia Stores and Fields. It was last used in 2006 by the Selkirk Challengers gymnastics club and had been vacant since. A shoe store added in 1968 had also long been vacant.
Councillor Brian Bogle said he spent about 45 minutes watching the excavator operator take the buildings down.
“In a tight space, it was amazing,” he said. “It was almost like watching an artist. It was amazing to watch it go down and a good feeling … It was a wonderful couple of days, actually, in my world.”
While both buildings have been reduced to rubble, there is more work to be done. City project manager Anne Simonen said the ruins are being sorted into recoverable wood and metal waste, and the rest will be trucked to the landfill. Afterward, the basement and concrete foundation will be removed, and the lots will be filled and levelled.
