Demolition of former Duquesne City School District football field halted due to lack of permit
DUQUESNE, Pa. (KDKA) - Duquesne's former high school football field was set to be demolished after it was deemed unsafe, says the district that hopes to build a new one.
But everything has come to a grinding halt.
No demolition permit was issued. It was a surprise to Duquense's superintendent, who told KDKA there was a miscommunication.
She says the company tearing down the stadium was told by a city employee who no longer works for the city that the permits would be taken care of, but that never happened.
"I don't think anything was done properly. None of us were made aware that they were coming. It's just one day he showed up, and he started ripping things down," one resident said.
The sudden halt of the demolition of the former Duquense HS football field.
— Jennifer Borrasso (@JenBorrasso) September 15, 2023
KDKA digging into why a permit was never issued. Reaction from the superintendent, the mayor & a concerned resident. There’s an effort to build a new stadium. 12 million says the superintendent @KDKA pic.twitter.com/ODcaY89hOq
Piles of debris and steel remain at the former Duquesne high school football stadium, which is being demolished.
But everything stopped this week after a stop work order went up for failure to get a demo permit.
A resident who didn't want to be identified has concerns.
"We are concerned about the asbestos possibly and lead-based paint, and if the next two years we are going to be looking at rubble?"
Duquesne Superintendent Sue Mariani says it hasn't had WPIAL or PIAA athletics played here since 2012. She says they started fundraising to build a new stadium complex after an engineer deemed it unsafe.
She says in June, Reynolds Brothers volunteered to tear the old stadium down for free. They contacted the city. Whoever they talked to indicated that the school district didn't have money for permits and said to go ahead and start the demolition.
Then, the employee left without finishing the paperwork.
Superintendent Mariani issued a statement on the demolition.
"After investigating, there was a miscommunication between Reynold's Brothers, Inc. and the city of Duquesne regarding the permit for demolition. The Duquesne City School District recruited Reynolds Brothers, who are completing the demolition pro bono, including the asbestos removal for which a permit is on file. The company stopped demolition due to a scheduled vacation and will finish the clean-up of the remaining debris upon their return. The required permits have been filed and will be ready for the clean-up to continue upon Reynolds return."
Duquesne's mayor says, "It was a mix-up on paperwork, and that is being taken care of."
No word when the demolition will start back up again.
The cost of a new football complex is estimated to be about $12 million, according to the superintendent.