A demolition crew needed just more than five hours to bring down a downtown Galesburg building raved by fire earlier this year.
A crew from River City Demolition of Peoria started the demolition process at 149-151 E. Main Street at 8:45 a.m. Saturday. By 2:15 p.m., the all the walls had been knocked in and the site now awaits cleanup.
Rob Benedict, owner of USA Recycling, said he expects the cleanup process to take about four weeks.
Long arm Caterpillar equipment started demolition on the front portion of the building facing Main Street. Falling bricks, beams, glass windows and remains of the building created clouds of dust as the second and third floors crumbled to the sidewalk and streets as the demolition process continued.
Benedict said demo crews completed the required 10-day notice to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for asbestos. The EPA deemed the project clear for demolition.
Prairie Street between Main and Ferris streets has remained closed since the fire. Main Street remains open in front of the demolition site.
Steve Gugliotta, director of Community Development, previously told WGIL care will be taken by the demolition contractor, USA Recycling, to avoid potential damage to the building west of the demolition site.
The HUB, located west of the fire site at 143 E. Main St. and owned by KCCDD Inc./Thrive Community Services, has remained closed due to the structural instability of 149-151 E. Main St.
The property is owned by by 61401 Galesburg, LLC of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Gugliotta said the future use of the site will be decided by the private property owner.
Once the site is cleaned up and filled, the lot will be seeded, according to Benedict.
An early-morning fire on Feb. 19 caused extensive structural and water damage of the 3-story building at the corner of Main and Prairie streets. Upon arrival, personnel encountered smoke and fire from the third story, on the north and east side of the structure.
The cause of the fire remains undetermined.
