Youngwood entrepreneur Jane Altman was daydreaming Wednesday about how great the beautiful 29-foot mahogany bar from the now-closed Mountain View Inn will look in her McCali Manor renovation project in Mt. Pleasant.
On Saturday, Altman successfully bid on the bar, a couple of brass beds and an antique desk during an auction at the landmark inn on Route 30 in Unity.
But her daydream was interrupted as she was supervising a crew removing the items from the inn.
"A state (Department of Environmental Protection) inspector came through and a little while later ... a woman came through saying to all the people who were removing things, 'Get out. Get out. Right now, you've got to get out. It may not be safe in here,' " said Altman, who is converting the former Elks building in Mt. Pleasant into a banquet and meeting facility.
"They were even saying we had to leave our tools behind and depart immediately, but we were able to retrieve our tools. And we did take the brass foot rail from the bar with us," she said.
The state inspector ordered the building "secured" until it can be examined to determine if asbestos is present, DEP spokeswoman Helen Humphreys said.
As a result, Altman and dozens of other successful bidders will not be able to collect their purchases — from wooden banisters to wall paneling — until they get word from Unity auctioneer Mark Ferry and his partner, Randy Betton of Hempfield, that the asbestos survey of the building has been done, Humphreys said.
Humphreys said the new owners, Upper St. Clair brothers James and Daniel Snyder, will have to hire a qualified asbestos contractor to complete the survey, which will include air monitoring.
"I cannot say at this point how long or when that will be done," Humphreys said.
Neither the Snyders nor the auctioneers returned calls seeking comment.
"One of our inspectors went to the site and noticed that the plaster had been disturbed during the removal of plumbing facilities in the restroom. We're not saying that asbestos has actually been released at this point, but we're saying the possibility is there," Humphreys said.
"If that plaster had not been disturbed, there would not have been a problem in all likelihood because (the asbestos) would have still been contained," she said.
The Snyders purchased the property for more than $2.5 million after the inn, restaurant and bar closed in January. The real estate developers plan to raze part of the structure to make way for commercial development. The sale included the inn, 14 acres and a house on the property.
The hotel's Mountain Laurel wing overlooking Route 30 will be retained as a 53-room lodge run by about 10 employees, according to plans presented this week to township officials.
