Demolition of Belvedere Hotel in Oklahoma Borough cost 40% less than expected

The demolition of the Belvedere Hotel in Oklahoma Borough came in $36,000 under budget.

The demolition was completed Friday and took a little more than a week.

The final cost was $48,700, or about 40% less than expected.

Originally, Westmoreland County came up with $75,000 and Oklahoma Borough pledged $10,000 for the demolition and cleanup of the charred remains of the four-story, dilapidated hotel after a July fire left a pile of rubble.

Oklahoma Council deemed the demolition of the 115-year-old hotel an emergency cleanup because of the close proximity of the hotel to Route 66 and the presence of asbestos in the ruins.

The Westmoreland County Department of Planning and Development delayed the project last month because of potential escalating costs, but planning officials were happy with the final outcome, according to Jason Rigone, director of the Westmoreland County Department of Planning and Development.

The county put the project up for bid last month.

“At that point, we didn’t have the funding available,” Rigone said. “So we had to look at being creative to go out to see if we could get a better price.”

The county awarded the job to Eveready Contracting LLC of Washington Township, which finished work Friday. It carted away the last of the charred debris to a dump in Imperial.

“We were disappointed that the project didn’t proceed originally,” Rigone said. “However, we are satisfied that we were able to secure a cost that was affordable.”

As a result, Rigone said the county is letting Oklahoma Borough off the hook for its portion of the project expense.