New YMCA shut down by demolition damage

The new YMCA building in downtown Sydney remains closed because of damage sustained during the demolition of the old facility next door.

A wall of the 1940s building crashed during demolition on Sunday, sending bricks and rubble flying into the new section, which opened in July. No one was hurt.

The damage is in the new gymnasium, the track area and the conditioning centre.

Andre Gallant, CEO of the Cape Breton YMCA, said some wallboard is cracked and insulation is poking through.

"There was a door frame, a service entrance that was completely smashed in. The doors that would normally swing out were pushed in," he said.

Gallant said the building will reopen when structural engineers have done a complete examination and declared it safe. He doesn't know how long that will take.

"It's what we can't see that's of a greater concern, of course," he said.

Gallant said the decision was made to open the new section before the old one was torn down to avoid shutting down entirely for a year or more.