Everett port begins taking down Collins Building
Published 10:56 pm Thursday, June 17, 2010
EVERETT — The Port of Everett removed all the windows of the historic Collins Building on Thursday, in preparation to hiring a contractor to take it apart.
The windows, interior cabinets, partition walls and sprinkler pipes will be removed before the port hires someone to remove the structural timbers for reuse.
“They came out a lot quicker than we thought,” port spokeswoman Lisa Lefeber said of the windows.
The actual demolition of the building should take three to four weeks, according to port consultant David Bennink. He said the timbers and other wood in the building are valued at $200,000 to $250,000, making it worth taking the extra time to remove them so they can be reused.
The report said the building materials “seem to be in good shape except for the flooring and some wood that may be water damaged.”
“The beams and posts hold the most value in the project, but there are many other materials like windows and gas furnaces that we have listed as being salvaged for reuse,” Bennink said.
The port plans to store the materials on the site for up to six months and other the materials to other governments and historic nonprofit organizations. After that, it will sell the unused items to a reuse company.
In addition to “deconstructing” the building for reuse, the port plans to:
Assemble the Collins Building History into a booklet with a narrative and photos and post it on its website and send copies to schools in the district and the Everett library.
Develop an interpretive sign to be placed near the location of the building to serve as a marker and to develop two interpretive displays for the Snohomish County History Museum.
Provide $3,000 to Historylink.org to publish an extensive history on the site. The history could be portwide, but include a section of the Collins Building.
Create a multi-media CD with images and narration about the building with information from Historic Everett and Washington Trust for Historic Preservation to be posted on its website and local libraries.
