Recent Backwell Work
A look at the equipment, conditions, and field conditions we handle across Central New York, from winter emergency calls to solar corridors and commercial site work.
Commercial demolition contractor serving Syracuse and Central New York. Factory teardown, warehouse and industrial demolition, bridge removal, concrete slab demolition, and selective interior strip-out with full NYSDEC and NESHAP compliance. Bonded, insured, and NYSDOT-prequalified.
Backwell is a commercial demolition contractor based at 4830 W Seneca Tpke in Syracuse, NY, handling structural demolition, bridge removal, and site clearance work for GCs, developers, industrial owners, EPCs, and public agencies across Central and Upstate New York. The work ranges from 200,000 sq ft factory teardowns down to surgical interior strip-outs where a single tenant suite needs to be reduced to the deck without disrupting the building's other occupants. What the jobs share is a bid package that requires more than an excavator and a roll-off truck , they require a contractor who can read a NESHAP asbestos survey, pull a Part 56 demolition permit, write a Maintenance and Protection of Traffic (MPT) plan that NYSDOT will accept, and close out the site to a grade and a certificate of completion the owner can hand to the next trade.
Central New York weather and geology add their own demolition variables. Lake-effect snow bands off Lake Ontario compress the viable structural demolition season from December through March on exposed sites. The heavy clays around Onondaga, Oswego, and Madison counties bog down tracked equipment in spring thaw and require articulated haulers or timbered mats to protect subgrade. Aging industrial stock across Syracuse, Utica, and Rome frequently contains asbestos-containing material (ACM), PCB-laden electrical equipment, and historic petroleum releases that show up only after a Phase II. Backwell prices this reality into the estimate , not as a change order waiting to happen, but as a fully scoped demolition work plan with contingencies the owner can see at bid time.
Backwell's demolition practice is structured around four core project types, each with a distinct equipment package, permit framework, and execution sequence.
Large-span manufacturing, distribution, and processing facilities. Scope typically includes utility disconnects (gas, electric, water, steam), process equipment removal, MEP salvage, roof and envelope removal, structural steel or pre-cast panel demolition, slab-on-grade removal, foundation and footing removal, and site restoration to rough grade. Backwell uses high-reach excavators (Cat 349 and 390-class with 65-ft to 100-ft front ends), hydraulic shears and pulverizers, and tracked skid-steer concrete pulverizers on interior work. Structural steel is separated, load-weighed, and sent to scrap; concrete is crushed on-site for reuse as backfill or Item 304 recycled aggregate.
Bridge and overpass removal on both NYSDOT public contracts and private industrial spans (rail siding bridges, conveyor bridges, process pipe bridges). Work is performed to NYSDOT Standard Specifications Section 202 (Removal of Structures and Obstructions). Scope includes maintenance and protection of traffic (MPT), work zone traffic control (WZTC) compliant with MUTCD and NYSDOT Section 619, over-water containment under NYSDEC Article 15 where a waterway is present, deck saw-cutting and segmented removal, superstructure rigging and lift-out, and pier and abutment removal to below finished grade.
Concrete and asphalt demolition including slab-on-grade removal, spread footing and wall foundation removal, below-grade tank pit and sump demolition, industrial equipment pad removal, parking lot and roadway demolition, and airport pavement rehabilitation support. Backwell mobilizes excavator-mounted hydraulic breakers, track-mounted pavement saws, slab grapples, and a closed-circuit impact crusher capable of producing NYSDOT Item 304 or Item 203 recycled concrete aggregate on-site to reduce haul-off volume.
Interior strip-out for commercial tenant fit-outs, medical and lab renovations, retail conversion, hotel and institutional refresh, and industrial process reconfiguration. Scope includes partition demolition, ceiling and soffit removal, flooring removal (including VCT and mastic, which requires asbestos protocol), MEP rough-in removal, and selective structural demolition (openings cut through shear walls, partial slab cuts, stair removal) with the remaining structure protected, shored, and returned to the GC at a clean deck condition. All selective demolition is performed under an engineered demolition plan sealed by a NYS-licensed PE where partial structural removal is involved.
Backwell owns its demolition fleet and staffs its own operators , no subbing of the heavy work. The demolition iron is built around three tiers of capability.
All operators are MSHA Part 46 or OSHA 10/30 current as the site requires, and are trained on Backwell's written demolition work plans for each project. Site supervisors carry OSHA 30 and NYSDOL competent person qualifications for structural demolition and confined space work.
Commercial demolition in New York State sits inside a permit framework that has gotten measurably tighter over the last decade. Backwell writes the compliance scope into the bid so the GC and owner are not surprised by a shutdown three weeks into demolition.
Demolition is one of the higher-risk trades in commercial construction, which makes the insurance and bonding framework that sits behind the contractor a real line item on the risk side of any project. Backwell carries a general liability policy at commercial-demolition-grade limits, excess/umbrella coverage stacked on top, contractors pollution liability (CPL) to pick up the environmental exposure that demolition routinely creates, commercial auto on the fleet, and workers' compensation at NY statutory rates. Certificates of insurance naming the owner and GC as additional insureds are issued at contract award. On public projects and on private projects where the owner requires surety, Backwell posts 100% performance and payment bonds through a Treasury-listed surety. Current single-project bond capacity and aggregate capacity letters are available on request at bid time.
On the safety side, Backwell operates under a written Site-Specific Safety Plan (SSSP) for every demolition project, with a full-time competent person on site during structural demolition. All crews are current on OSHA 10 or 30, first aid/CPR, and fall protection. Pre-task planning (JHA) is conducted daily before structural work. Backwell's EMR and recordable rates are provided to GCs and owners during the pre-qualification phase; the company is routinely prequalified through ISNetworld, Avetta, and Veriforce.
Most commercial demolition waste is recyclable , concrete, steel, copper, aluminum, clean wood, cardboard, and even gypsum on clean-source sites. Backwell's default assumption on every commercial demolition is that 75 percent or more of the demolition weight will be diverted from landfill through on-site crushing, metal separation, and C&D recycling facility routing. Concrete is crushed to NYSDOT Item 304 recycled base course or Item 203 structural fill specifications using a closed-circuit impact crusher , the crushed material frequently stays on site as backfill or base for the follow-on construction phase, which eliminates a haul-off line item entirely. Steel is weighed, manifested, and sold back to licensed scrap recyclers with the salvage credit returned to the owner on negotiated jobs. For projects pursuing LEED v4 or v4.1 MR Credit 5 (Construction and Demolition Waste Management), Backwell provides landfill diversion documentation, facility certificates, and weight tickets.
Backwell handles demolition as a prime contractor to industrial owners and as a trade subcontractor to general contractors, design-build firms, EPC contractors, and NYSDOT prime contractors across New York State. Typical clients include commercial and industrial property owners planning redevelopment, GCs executing tenant improvement and renovation work, developers assembling sites for new construction, municipalities and school districts running public capital programs, solar developers and EPCs clearing sites for utility-scale solar (where demolition of a pre-existing agricultural or industrial structure is in the scope), and real estate investors running brownfield redevelopment. Project scope ranges from $30,000 interior strip-outs to $1M-plus factory teardowns and bridge removals.
Backwell provides commercial demolition across Syracuse, Auburn, Oswego, Fulton, Utica, Rome, Cortland, Cazenovia, Oneida, Baldwinsville, Cicero, Liverpool, East Syracuse, Camillus, Manlius, Fayetteville, DeWitt, Skaneateles, Canastota, Chittenango, Geneva, Seneca Falls, Newark, Waterloo, Sodus, Palmyra, Lyons, Hamilton, Morrisville, New Hartford, Whitesboro, Clinton, Boonville, Camden, Pulaski, Mexico, Parish, and across Onondaga, Oswego, Madison, Cayuga, Oneida, Seneca, Wayne, and Cortland counties. For structural demolition packages above $250,000, Backwell mobilizes anywhere in New York State.
Demolition is a specification-and-schedule trade, not a low-bid trade. The owners and GCs who keep calling Backwell back are the ones who have been burned by a contractor that underbid the asbestos scope, missed the NESHAP 10-day notification, blew the MPT plan at the pre-construction meeting, or left a site that was not closed out to finished grade and a stabilized surface. Backwell was built to be the answer to those bids. Ron Starusnak, the owner, is in every estimate, signs every bond application, and responds to every GC's pre-bid RFI personally , usually within hours, not days. The fleet, the operators, the permitting, the bonding, the crushing, and the close-out paperwork all come from one source. That is the model that actually delivers a commercial demolition on budget and on schedule in Central New York.
After demolition, most sites move directly into commercial site preparation, grading, and storm drainage work. Backwell also handles commercial excavation, rock excavation, underground utility installation, environmental remediation, erosion and sediment control, and land clearing across New York.
Yes. General liability, excess/umbrella, contractors pollution liability (CPL), and commercial auto are all in place at commercial-demolition-grade limits. Certificates of insurance naming the owner and GC as additional insureds are issued at contract award. Performance and payment bonds through a Treasury-listed surety are posted on public projects and on private projects where the owner requires surety. Current single-project and aggregate bond capacity letters are available on request.
A pre-demolition asbestos and lead-based paint survey is required under NESHAP and NYSDOL Industrial Code Rule 56. Backwell coordinates with licensed NY abatement contractors for ACM removal, files the EPA/NYSDEC 10-day notification (ACP-5, ACP-9), and waits for the post-abatement air clearance report before mobilizing structural crews. The abatement phase and the demolition phase are sequenced in the project schedule at bid award.
Yes. Backwell holds NYSDOT contractor prequalification at the level needed for the structural demolition and removal of structures work types the company bids (NYSDOT Section 202). Bridge and overpass demolition is executed with full MPT, MUTCD-compliant work zone traffic control, and over-water containment where a waterway crossing is present.
A 20,000 to 50,000 sq ft commercial building with standard utilities and routine ACM scope typically runs 8 to 12 weeks from notice to proceed through rough-grade close-out. Abatement takes 2 to 4 weeks, structural demolition 3 to 5 weeks, foundation and slab removal 1 to 2 weeks, and site restoration 1 to 2 weeks. Projects with DEC brownfield oversight, NYSDOT MPT, or cold-weather constraints add 2 to 6 weeks.
Current single-project bond capacity is in the multi-million-dollar range, with aggregate capacity scaled to match the active project book. A bonding letter from the surety is provided at bid time on any project where the owner requires surety. Backwell bonds demolition work regularly on public contracts in the Central New York region and holds relationships with multiple Treasury-listed sureties.
Concrete is crushed on-site to NYSDOT Item 304 recycled base course or Item 203 structural fill specifications. Structural steel, rebar, copper, and aluminum are separated and sold back to licensed scrap recyclers. Clean wood, cardboard, and gypsum are routed to C&D recycling facilities when the source is clean. On a typical commercial demolition, 75 percent or more of the demolition weight is diverted from landfill. Diversion documentation is available for LEED MR Credit 5 reporting.
Yes. Slab-on-grade demolition, spread footing removal, industrial equipment pad removal, parking lot demolition, and airport pavement rehab support are a regular part of the book. Backwell crushes concrete on-site and leaves the aggregate stockpiled for the follow-on contractor or hauls it off, depending on the owner's preference.
Backwell is part of a Central New York family of service companies. When a commercial site needs ongoing property management after construction, our sister company RenPro Property Management handles leasing, rent collection, and maintenance across 100+ properties in Syracuse, Oswego, Auburn, and Utica. Learn more about our network of companies.
A look at the equipment, conditions, and field conditions we handle across Central New York, from winter emergency calls to solar corridors and commercial site work.