Rental Industry News Today

Sponsored by Volvo Rents with 2 stores in Alberta, Canada- the Edson Equipment Rental & Edmonton Construction Equipment Rental experts…Alberta Construction projects in the news…

Transforming an empty hospital into an historic hotel has its challenges.

Architect Gene Dub, owner of the Charles Camsell Hospital, is working to reconstruct the demolished Alberta Hotel, demolished in 1984 to make way for Canada Place. The present reconstruction effort, estimated to cost from $10 million to $15 million, is a labor of love for Dub.

He wants the hotel to look exactly the same as before its demolition. As part of that effort, 2000 chunks of stone saved from the old hotel are being used in the construction.

The task of assembling the wall turned out to be a real-life jigsaw puzzle because some (but not all) pieces were numbered to indicate their position

Based on dimensions from the old hotel, an outline was made of the wall on a flat surface. Piecing together the jigsaw started with placing all the numbered pieces in their correct spots. The remaining pieces of stone were then fitted in to complete the wall.

After three months of work, all the stones are numbered and ready to be fitted as real construction starts in December. Stones and bricks from the Rothsay Apartments, another demolished structure, will also be used to construct another wall.

The north side of the building, however, will be a modern wall of glass.

Another major construction challenge is to move a huge, house-size, structure to the roof. A distinct cupola to cap a curved corner in the southwest of the hotel is 27 feet in width. It must be lifted to the top in a safe manner after obtaining all the necessary permissions.

The project also involves reconstructing the old hotel’s bar, with all its original features now stored in boxes at the city’s archives.

About Volvo Rents of Alberta, Canada