If you’re heading downtown this week, you might have your car or bus rerouted. That’s because the demolition of the Gastineau apartments began Monday.
At the site, a backhoe will punch holes in the concrete walls of the building and an excavator will peel the front structure away piece by piece.
Richard Ritter, the city’s chief architect, said North Franklin Street will be closed to keep the public safe.
“At that point they will start removing the front wall. That’s the trickiest part,” Ritter said. “They don’t want parts of the front wall to fall into the street. We do have it all restrained with cables and a demolition screen, but it’s a public safety thing.”
North Franklin will reopen tomorrow evening. But the street will be continuously closed Wednesday through 6 p.m. Sunday.
Ritter expects the initial demolition of the front of the apartments to be completed this week. The back structure will be torn down in the following weeks. The finish date is set for the end of April.
