Spokane County demolishes eyesore building on former vermiculite site

Zeeq Michel uses the same bus stop almost every day to get to and from his after-school job at the Salish School of Spokane.

Zeeq, 15, said he used to fear for his safety whenever he’d be stuck waiting by the pole on the corner of Maple Street and Maxwell Avenue, mostly due to the “sketchy” condemned building that stood behind it.

The bus stop is just a few feet from where one of the West Central neighborhood’s most problematic eyesores used to sit. The Spokane County Public Works department tore down the structure in early January and Zeeq said he’s felt a lot safer ever since.

“There was a lot of suspicious activity there,” he said. “I would see a lot of drug use there, just kind of out in the open, and kind of a rough crowd just hanging out there.”

The structure was a former office building belonging to the W.R. Grace and Co., which operated its Vermiculite Northwest plant on the property up until the 1970s. The plant processed vermiculite ore contaminated with asbestos from the company’s mine near Libby, Montana, and turned it into attic insulation called Zonolite.

Spokane County bought the land in 2000, and shortly after, the Environmental Protection Agency conducted soil testing that found asbestos fibers throughout the property. The mine where the ore was sourced had an asbestos deposit that contaminated most of the vermiculite. In 2007, the county elected to use asphalt to cap and seal the southwest portion of the property, where the vermiculite processing and handling buildings once stood. The highest concentrations of asbestos were found there at depths of up to 4 feet.

Exposure to asbestos can cause mesothelioma, cancer and other lung problems including asbestosis.

Director of Public Works Kyle Twohig said there has long been a plan in the works to demolish the building, but the process was expedited at the request of County Commissioner Chris Jordan.

Jordan, who represents the West Central neighborhood, said he first started hearing from constituents about the old office building shortly after taking office last January. Residents in the neighborhood complained that it was an eyesore and attracted a wide range of criminal activity.

“I had a chance to visit the property myself and saw used drug needles on the ground, garbage inside the fence and beyond, graffiti,” Jordan said. “I had heard it was a longstanding issue in the community, so I reached out to Public Works to see what we could do to speed that process along.”

Crews began the demolition in December after abating the building of the asbestos that was found inside. They wrapped up their work at the start of the new year. Jordan said he was grateful to Twohig and the Public Works department for their help in alleviating a longstanding concern for those who live and work near the building.

“With the nuisance issue we’ve been having, we pulled the trigger early there,” Twohig said. “And I’ve heard great feedback from the neighborhood about that decision.”

The demolition was a precursor to much more extensive work the county has planned for the site. The department currently houses most of its heavy machinery, striping equipment and a trailer for training there. Twohig said they plan to construct a brand-new Public Works facility there in the coming years that will consolidate the department’s bridge crew, sign shop, signal shop, construction management office, construction materials and a training room.

Twohig said the majority of the construction will be taking place on the less contaminated areas of the site, but there is a potential for some environmental and health concerns. The asphalt cap over the most contaminated soil will not be disturbed and does not need replaced, but the department may add on to it.

EPA investigators visited the site three times between 2000 and 2011, conducting soil tests that showed significant construction or movement of soil on the site could throw plumes of asbestos into the air and create a health hazard. Federal officials also removed some contaminated soil from a nearby apartment building in April 2011.

The county public works department will work closely with the Washington State Department of Ecology to ensure those concerns are mitigated, Twohig said.

“It’s less contaminated, so there’s not as much of a concern,” Twohig said. “We will still follow a pretty healthy testing regimen, though.”

The project is still in the early schematics phase, but Twohig and Jordan said they both look forward to what is in store for the former processing site. Twohig said the department is working to make sure all requirements for the project are met, including ensuring there is enough funding .

“I’m excited to see the operations facility move forward, and I think there’s an opportunity to look at our county properties and see, holistically, how they can best serve our needs and the neighboring communities,” Jordan said.

Zeeq, while standing at the bus stop he uses regularly on Tuesday afternoon, looked back at where the building once stood and smiled. He pointed out the dirt lot had been fenced off, preventing people from gathering there.

“I’m less on edge. There’s less concern about my well-being, you know?” he said. “Now it’s just all dirt.”

Editor’s note: This story was changed on Jan. 18, 2024 to correct the spelling of the first name of Zeeq Michel in multiple references.