AMHERSTBURG — A lone tree growing at the top of an eight-storey building surrounded by growing piles of rubble has been saved at the site of the former General Chemical site.

“You can tell your readers the demolition contractors saved that tree that they wanted saved that was on top of the building,” said Rich Galloway, corporate remediation manager for property owners Honeywell International.

The tree was spotted by residents who wrote comments on Honeywell’s website, pleading for its survival.

File photo of the former General Chemical plant in Amherstburg, Ont. (Windsor Star files)

“Priestly Demolition listened to the stakeholders and they saved the tree,” Galloway said via telephone from his office in Morristown, N.J. “It was growing off the roof. It was quite tall.”

“That was one of the things they took a keen interest in,” said Mayor Wayne Hurst. “It’s very, very considerate of them to do just that.”

The tree is off site, waiting to be replanted in an appropriate spot.

But Priestly has saved little else at the site of the former chemical plant, which closed in 2005 after its owners declared bankruptcy.

Demolition of the former General Chemical plant in Amherstburg, Ont. continues Monday, April, 29, 2013. The property is now owned by Honeywell Inc. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)

Hired by Amherstburg Land Holdings Ltd., an affiliate of Honeywell, Priestly’s crew has been toiling for 14 months tearing down structures and sorting materials for recycling.

Galloway said all of the major structures are “on the ground” and the demolition is on schedule and should be completed in August.

Steel and other metals are being recycled, while one million gallons of No. 6 oil, which was used to power the boilers in the power plant, is sitting in above-ground storage tanks waiting for removal.

“They try to recycle almost everything they demolish,” Galloway said.

Demolition of the former General Chemical plant in Amherstburg, Ont. continues Monday, April, 29, 2013. The property is now owned by Honeywell Inc. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)

He said the Ministry of the Environment has overseen preliminary work on the soda ash settling ponds and the company will begin to “dewater” or drain them as soon as the weather co-operates.

The powerhouse smokestack will be one of the last structures to be demolished.

“Priestly is saving the stack for last — a kind of milestone — (for) the completion of the demolition work,” Galloway said.

He said $10 million has been spent on the demolition so far and he believes another $10 million will be needed to complete the job and the cleanup work.

Hurst said $20 million was set aside by the ministry for the job, money paid by the previous owners.

Demolition of the former General Chemical plant in Amherstburg, Ont. continues Monday, April, 29, 2013. The property is now owned by Honeywell Inc. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)

“The main objective of course is to complete the demolition safely and properly and certainly on time, ensuring that it’s on budget,” Hurst said. “They’re doing well. I go by there on a daily basis and I see progress all the time.”

The future of the property is unknown.

“The demise of General Chemical created a stigma in the town — a bad taste,” Hurst said. “When you see the remediation taking place, what I hope will happen is it will be replaced by something of course that will bring jobs, economic stability for the Town of Amherstburg and also a tax base.

“I think once that’s done you’ll see a lot of interested parties come forward.”