Downtown Sudbury scaffolding in place to protect public

Scaffolding has become a common sight in downtown Sudbury this summer and it's not just because of construction.

It's been erected in front of two buildings because of concerns that pieces could fall off and hurt people.

In November, achunk of brick did fell fromthe third storey of the century-old building that housesQuerney'sOffice Plus.

"Two people actually came into the store and said, 'just so you know, a piece fell out'," said owner John Querney.

"I got out to have a look at it and we immediately cordoned off that area."

Since then, he's been spending thousands of dollars to restore the distinctive yellow brick facade, which dates to the 1930s. Thebuilding, originally built in 1911, isknown around Sudbury as theSilverman'sBuilding.

"Old buildings... you got to keep everything up," says Querney, who hopes work will be wrapped up this fall.

"It's like anything else in life and if you're not spending the money on it to keep it up it's going to rot on you."

'Small pieces coming off'

The scaffolding around the federal building at the corner of Elm andLisgar Streetswas also put up this spring to protect the public.

Fred Hardy, the regional director of professional and technical servicesforService Canada, saysit was put up around the building this spring after problems were noticed with granite panels on the building.

"Small cracks, small pieces coming off, the mortar was coming out and the inspection also showed the anchor points were starting to rust in some areas," he says.

Hardy says a "multi-million-dollar" renovation project is now being planned, primarily to replace the outside paneling that was installed in 2001.

He says the appearance of the building will not change substantially, largely because it is considered a heritage structure by the federal government, as a good example of late 1950s institutional architecture.

Hardy says the contract will be tendered in the spring, with construction expected to start in the summer of 2017.

That means Sudburians will likely be walking under that scaffolding until late next year.

Peeking through Portholes

The other scaffolding in downtown Sudbury is around the new Laurentian University architecture school, expected to open in early September.

Founding director Terrance Galvinsays he's happy their scaffolding includes portholes that allow the public to see the new landmark go up.

"When I'm coming to school myself and sometimes pass along Elm Street, I watch people watching," Galvin says with a laugh.