Earthmovers Inc. will demolish the former Champion Trophy building at Seventh Avenue and Eighth Street this weekend.
Preparations will begin 6 p.m. Friday and workers will begin demolition Saturday, Mayor Bill Schirf said. They'll work Sunday, if necessary, to finish tearing it down, he said.
Motorists will detour around the area during demolition, as the city will close Eighth Street from Chestnut to Sixth avenues - including the Eighth Street Bridge - and Seventh Avenue from Seventh to Ninth streets.
The demolition was postponed twice previously, most recently after being scheduled for last weekend, Schirf said.
The city is requiring that owner Pyramid Healthcare Properties tear down the Champion building as a prerequisite for helping the company demolish three nearby blighted homes it owns.
The city's blighted property demolition crew will do those three residential demolitions soon, according to Mary Johnson, who manages the demolition program.
The city will lien the properties for the cost of debris disposal, she said.
If Pyramid eventually develops the ground as planned, it can ask City Council to forgive the lien, she said.
The liens will be "our safety net" to ensure the proposed project "moves along," she said.
The city crew recently demolished a fourth nearby blighted house owned by Pyramid. The city also liened that property for the cost of disposal.
The house was in bad enough shape to demand quick action, and the crew and its equipment were working nearby at the time, she said.
The city is covering labor costs for the crew on the four house demolitions.
Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 949-7038.
