Demolition Contractor in Lawrence Station, Santa Clara

Industrial Building Demolition in the Lawrence Station Area

Santa Clara's Lawrence Station Area Plan covers the land between Lawrence Expressway, Central Expressway, Kifer Road and Calabazas Creek, right next to the Sunnyvale border. For decades it was a business park of one and two story concrete and steel buildings used for light manufacturing, labs, offices and warehousing. The plan calls for much of it to become apartments and townhomes close to the train.

That turns into a steady stream of commercial demolition. A typical parcel has a tilt-up or concrete block building, a large slab, loading docks, a surface parking lot and landscaping strips along the street. We take down the building, break out the slab and footings, remove the paving and leave a cleared, rough graded pad for the residential builder.

Phased Demolition Next to Working Businesses

Redevelopment around Lawrence Station is happening parcel by parcel, not all at once. A building we demolish can share a driveway, a fence line or even a wall with a business that is still running. That changes how we plan the work.

We keep shared access open, set dust and noise controls along the property line, and schedule truck traffic on Kifer Road around the neighbors' deliveries. Where buildings share utilities, we confirm with the owner and the utility what serves what before anything is cut. Electric lines here belong to Silicon Valley Power, and on parcels near the Sunnyvale line we double-check which city's rules apply to each piece of work.

Fire access is part of that planning too. Lanes the fire department relies on for the occupied buildings next door stay open and clear of stockpiles for the whole job.

Environmental Conditions on Former Industrial Parcels

Some industrial land in this part of the valley has a history of solvent and chemical use, and older buildings may have process piping, chemical storage rooms, sumps or underground tanks. Before demolition, the owner's environmental consultant usually has a picture of what is there, and some sites have soil or groundwater conditions that are being managed under an agency's oversight.

We work inside that plan. Tank and chemical room closures are done before our machines arrive. Asbestos from the survey goes out with a certified abatement crew, and our BAAQMD filing is in ahead of the start date. If something no one expected shows up under the slab, such as a buried vault or stained soil, we stop in that spot and call the consultant.

• Asbestos and hazardous materials surveys
• Closures for tanks, sumps and chemical rooms
• BAAQMD notification before demolition
• Stop-work on unexpected findings

Recycling Concrete and Asphalt From Lawrence Station Sites

These parcels produce large amounts of concrete and asphalt. Both can be recycled, either crushed and reused on site as base for the new project or hauled to recycling facilities. On some sites, keeping crushed material on site cuts truck trips on Lawrence Expressway and Kifer Road and saves cost.

Steel from the roof structure, racking and doors goes to metal recycling. We keep weight tickets for every load leaving the site, which the project needs for CALGreen and the City of Santa Clara permit closeout.