Demolition of the vacant MBTA building at 500 Arborway has been delayed until the completion of the Casey Arborway project, late 2016 at the earliest, according to MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo.
The building will be used for office space for that project, Pesaturo said. Other parts of the site have been slated for temporary parking and construction staging.
Casey project representatives have repeatedly emphasized a September 2016 completion date, though they have admitted there is a chance the project could miss that deadline.
The demolition of 500 Arborway is part of site preparation for a new bus maintenance facility planned there, though that plan is currently unfunded. A temporary facility operates elsewhere on the same property.
The 500 Arborway building originally was slated to remain in the bus yard plan, but in a surprise move last year, the MBTA announced the demolition plan. Demolition bids were supposed to go out last fall, but apparently did not. An adjacent pole yard was relocated to make way for the Casey project.
The Casey Arborway project will replace the Casey Overpass, which carries the Arborway over the Forest Hills T Station area. A new six- to eight-lane surface road will be constructed.
The state’s project website is massdot.state.ma.us/caseyarborway.