Impending implosion of Fargo High Rise pushed back a week

FARGO — Demolition aficionados, rearrange your calendars. The

implosion of the towering Lashkowitz High Rise building once scheduled for next week

has been pushed back to Saturday, Sept. 16.

“It got delayed by a week because we’re trying to coordinate as best we can with all our neighbors around the building,” Fargo Housing and Redevelopment Authority CEO Chris Brungardt told The Forum.

The aging 204-foot-tall tower 101 2nd St. S. is slated for demolition so Fargo Housing can build modern affordable housing units in its place.

While the delay was unexpected, pushing the implosion back a week will help address everyone’s concerns, Brungardt said.

Project Manager JJ Martin with Target Contractors said there have been a few schedule changes so far, noting that the demolition was originally planned for October. They are ahead of schedule overall, he said, but needed to delay by a week to be sure everyone is on the same page.

He has been working with the businesses and properties around the Lashkowitz to be sure their questions are answered and they are aware of all the safety precautionary measures that will be in place.

“Everyone has been cooperative,” he said. “We’ve made tremendous progress.”

Brungardt had been a “captain of coordination” in helping Martin build relationships with the Fargo community to ensure the project’s success, Martin said.

There are a lot of moving pieces when connecting one-on-one with all of the Lashkowitz’s neighbors, Martin said. Imploding a building doesn’t happen every day so when people heard about it, especially those right next to the implosion, they have a variety of questions and concerns.

“Anytime you’re dealing with the community, you have to be aware that some people may have more concerns than others, and rightfully so. This isn’t a normal event,” Martin said. It’s important to take the time to fully address their concerns, he said.

The building is ready for implosion, he noted, but this rescheduling allows Target the time to address those concerns and continue to get the word out to the community so that everyone knows what to expect.

Safety precautions for the demolition have been designed “from the ground up,” Martin said.

They’ve outlined an exclusion zone and placed a shield wall of shipping containers between the Lashkowitz and nearby buildings to the north and west. Further, explosives will be placed on the building’s southern side to bring it down in a slightly southern direction, Martin said.

During the day of the implosion a host of safety measures are planned, including dust suppression devices and the securing of all openings into nearby buildings that dust could creep into. They’ve sent notices to nearby tenants to warn them of the vibrations and loud noises, Martin said, and let them know when they will need to be out of the nearby buildings out of an abundance of caution.

“We don’t anticipate that there will be any issues,” Martin said, but they are still taking every precaution. They’ve also organized an incident command with Fargo’s Fire Department and Sanford Ambulance.

Target is a national expert at building implosions, Brungardt said.

“It’s just phenomenal the level of expertise these guys have,” he added.

The actual implosion will occur at 7 a.m. because most people are at home and most businesses aren’t open yet.

“We’re just trying to plan the time for the minimal amount of disturbance for the community,” Brungardt said. “You plan for the worst and you hope for the best.”