It will be a bit longer until the demolition of the old Wal-Mart building begins. The town of Massena, NY is waiting for all the paperwork to come through from the corporation.

"They've got all their submittals in," said Gregory C. Fregoe, town code enforcement officer. "We're just waiting for them to tell us who the contractor is."

Demolition was supposed to begin shortly after Thanksgiving, once the work permit application was in and the asbestos survey was completed. The forms have been filled out and the check for the permits sent in; all that remains is the name of the company to do the work.

The old Wal-Mart building, next to the Aldi supermarket, closed in February, the day before the Wal-Mart Supercenter opened at 43 Stephenville St. next to Home Depot. The Supercenter is double the size of the now-empty building.
Since it closed, Wal-Mart Realty has been trying to sell the building and 15-acre lot for slightly less than $2 million, Wal-Mart corporate spokesman Philip H. Serghini said in late November. There have been no offers on the property, Mr. Serghini said.

Structural issues may be the reason no one has expressed interest in buying the property, according to Mr. Fregoe. In January 2005, the northwest corner of the building sank after an expansion beam under the building shifted. Expansion beams are built under large buildings to absorb changes in the ground because of the climate. The building's location uphill from the river may have caused the shifting, according to CME Associates, an engineering company from Syracuse. Water flowing downhill may have moved soil or rocks more than the distance for which the beam could adjust.

No one was hurt in the incident. The store reopened after a few weeks and the situation continued to be monitored.

Once Wal-Mart tells the town who the contractor will be, demolition can begin.

"It's all been approved," Mr. Fregoe said.