Why Is Wahconah Park Still Standing?

I checked in with Jim McGrath on Tuesday to find out why Wahconah Park is still standing. If you remember, the city told us back in the spring that the old ballpark would already be torn down by now. So what happened?

Turns out the delay comes down to safety. McGrath, who is the city's Park, Open Space, and Natural Resource Program Manager, told me crews have been carefully working through hazardous material removal inside the building. We're talking asbestos, transite ceilings, and other nasty stuff you'd expect to find in a structure built back in the 1950s.

That kind of work does not move fast, and it should not. It also means the city has had to stay in close contact with the state Department of Environmental Protection to make sure everything gets done the right way. McGrath said the goal the whole time has been keeping the site and the surrounding neighborhood safe while all that material comes out.

The good news is the hazmat removal is finished. Now the city is just waiting on official sign off from the DEP, and McGrath expects that paperwork within the next week or two. Once that clears, he's predicting we will start seeing real demolition activity by the end of August, with steel coming off the building and the site coming down piece by piece.

As for what comes next, the plans for the new park are pretty ambitious. Renderings show an 1,100 seat grandstand, along with bathrooms, a locker room, and concession areas built to handle flood plain mitigation.

Once all of the funding is secure, the project will go out for bid, according to McGrath.