Kelloway Construction of St. John�s has been awarded a $924,129 contract for the environmental remediation and demolition of the former Janeway Hospital building.

The Honourable Dianne Whalen, Minister of Transportation and Works, said public tenders for remediation and demolition were called after attempts to sell the building in its current state were unsuccessful.

"�For Sale� signs have been on the Janeway since early March, 2007 and our real estate brokers, Market Morgan Finch, have determined that the best way to sell the former Janeway hospital site is to remove the old building," said Minister Whalen.

The environmental remediation and demolition are scheduled to begin shortly. The work is expected to take up to one year.

Martek, Morgan, Finch has set a deadline of December 31, 2007 for bids on the various site properties. The properties include the former hospital lands (9.9 acres); the former Janeway Apartments (seven acres); the former Janeway Hotsel (2.2 acres); a parcel of land adjacent to the Tommy Sexton Centre (1.3 acres); and a piece of land between the apartments and the Virginia River (10.5 acres).

The former Janeway Hospital closed its doors in 2001 and relocated to its current location, attached to the Health Sciences Centre.

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2007 12 07                                                    9:50 a.m.