Parking garage demolition to slow traffic on East William Street

DECATUR The long-awaited demolition of the parking garage near the Barnes Citizens Building has caused the temporary closure of the 200 block of East William Street.

The street is closed between North Franklin Street and North State Street from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. The Regions Bank drive-through will remain open, and motorists will have access from Water Street to East William Street.

Pedestrians are encouraged to use the north sidewalk on the closed section of the street, and motorists are encouraged to seek an alternate route.

City officials and downtown business owners have spoken about the garage as an eyesore for years, but removing it has been complicated.

The city obtained a demolition order after a court declared the structure unsafe in 2009. However, the city could not affect the value of the adjacent building, the heating and ventilation units for which were located on the parking garage.

City Manager Ryan McCrady had pledged that the garage would come down last winter. However, the garages owners, the Ballinger family, agreed to arrange for the work themselves rather than reimburse the city.

The demolition process finally began in April.

The garages demolition also sets the stage for the final phase of the downtown streetscape improvements. Work on the Franklin Street corridor is scheduled to begin later this year.

City officials had said the garage must come down before that construction could start.

apetty@herald-review.com|(217) 421-6986

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Parking garage demolition to slow traffic on East William Street