Expected to require four to six months of work, on Friday, Apr. 5 the New York Racing Association, Inc. will embark on the initial stages of the demolition of the current Belmont Park grandstand and clubhouse, the track said in a release Thursday.
To bring down a 1.25 million square foot building will require a host of engineers and experts tasked with deliberately removing usable materials from a building that opened to the public in 1968. A total of 75 percent of the materials will be recycled including concrete, steel, copper and aluminum. NYRA will be processing this material onsite, which will significantly reduce truck traffic and emissions.
Over the last year, NYRA has preserved and stored Belmont's extensive collection of racing artwork, as well as some of its best-known artifacts, such as the track's wrought-iron gates. The Japanese White Pine in the paddock will be surveyed and protected to the greatest extent possible throughout the demolition and construction phases.
Additionally, John Skeaping's bronze statue of Secretariat has been transported to Saratoga Race Course where it will be placed in a public area adjacent to the Walk of Fame through the duration of the project downstate.
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