| This was written by Jeremy Jackson, an NKU intern for Council Member Quinlivan. Why demolish when we can deconstruct some of the city’s condemned buildings? Council Member Laure Quinlivan wants to promote the environment and create job training opportunities by partnering with Building Values, a nonprofit salvage company. Building Value recycles building materials and keeps waste out of landfill. The salvaged materials—which range anywhere from bathroom and kitchen fixtures to larger items, such as vintage fireplace mantels and stained glass—are all transported to the Building Value retail store, where they are sold to the public. According to the store’s director Jerry Janzen, the process of deconstructing facilities benefits Cincinnati twofold. First, by having an 82% salvage rate with each facility they enter, it’s a boon to the environment. But also, Janzen says the deconstruction process trains people with workforce disadvantages, allowing the workers opportunity to receive on-the-job training in order to bolster their resume. “We’ve given them one building to deconstruct, and now I hope we can give them more,” said Council Member Quinlivan at the Quality of Life meeting June 8. “We’re working with our building department to see what we can do, and we’ll bring something forward.” If you would like to see video on Building Value’s deconstructive process or view their retail store, click here. You can also visit their website at http://www.buildingvalue-cincy.org. Related Article
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