HOUSTON -

Demolition began Wednesday at the last of Houston's "Dirty Half-Dozen" dangerous buildings.

The bulldozing began Wednesday at the abandoned Aries Motel in the 8100 block of Gladstone in Sunnyside in southeast Houston.

"The demolition will include the removal of the structure, the parking lot and the foundation," Mayor Annise Parker said. "(It will) have a clean lot and hopefully we'll be able to get it back out to the market and have it redeveloped."

The demolition marked the successful end of Parker's goal to destroy the city's six most blighted properties known as the "Dirty Half-Dozen."Those properties also included 3902 West Little York, 10403 Forum Park, 3605 Crosstimbers, 5292 Memorial and 12540 Hillcroft.

The decaying two-story and 31-year-old Aries Motel has been vacant for three years.

"I want to thank the Mayor for all that she has done," added Pastor James Nash of the nearby Greater Saint Paul Missionary Baptist Church. "She is familiar with this area and has been working with us for years. This blighted motel had shootings, drugs and prostitution. This is a great day for Sunnyside and all of Houston."

"This day is very special for me and my family and my neighbors. I am so glad because this place is no longer in front of my house," area resident Diana Maldonado said.

In the past three years, the city of Houston has demolished more than 1,000 blighted abandoned homes and 1,120 apartment/condominium units.

"We not only set an aggressive goal, we achieved it in record time," said Parker. "Although our resources are limited, I won't stop until we eliminate all of the dangerous, abandoned buildings threatening our safety, economy and quality of life. Now its on to the next dirty half-dozen."

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Demolition begins at abandoned motel

The Andrea Hotel Demolition #2
The Andrea comes down in Misquamicut January 23, 2013

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The Andrea Hotel Demolition #2 - Video

BO2 Gameplay: Demolition Lightning Strike x2 + 19 Killstreak
Map: Standoff Game mode: Demolition Weapon: AN-94 (Gold Camo) K/D: 45-11 Scorestreaks: Lightning Strike/Stealth Chopper/VSAT

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BO2 Gameplay: Demolition Lightning Strike x2 + 19 Killstreak - Video

1st Person Excavator Demolition

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1st Person Excavator Demolition - Video

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Ed Dietl, of the Historical Preservation Association of Rancho Cucamonga, is among a number of people who want to save the historic China House on the southwest corner of Klusman Avenue and San Bernardino Road from demolition. (Photo by Neil Nisperos/Staff)

An order to demolish the building by Feb. 14 has been moved to April 11, said Trang Huynh, Rancho Cucamonga's building inspector.

The extension came after a request this week by the Cucamonga Valley Water District, which owns the property.

After years of concern over the fate of the building, the district had come up with a plan to demolish it. It planned to use some of the original brickwork for a memorial to honor the Chinese laborers who lived in or near the building in the early 20th Century.

After learning of the demolition plan shortly before the new year, regional Chinese heritage group members rallied to convince local water district officials to delay demolition plans. The groups plan to form a China House preservation committee with the Historical Preservation Association of Rancho Cucamonga to come up with a plan to save the building from demolition.

Jo Lynne Russo-Pereyra, assistant general manager of the water district, said the water district is willing to give the groups more time to come back with some type of plan for the building.

Eugene Moy, vice president of the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California who will co-chair the new committee, said the first step will be to stabilize the building. Groups are also working to find

"If we can make progress, I'm hoping the city will be willing to provide further extensions," Moy said.

"We are going to work diligently and in good faith to come up with a plan and I'm hoping that the city would recognize that and would allow the process to be extended so that good work can be accomplished."

neil.nisperos@inlandnewspapers.com

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City grants extension on demolition order for Rancho Cucamonga China House

The days have passed when the city of Hannibals old sewer plant will entice children with a sense of adventure, or serve as a haven for the homeless. Despite temperatures in the low teens Tuesday morning, members of the Street Department could be found using heavy equipment to bring down three buildings near Bear Creek. According to a person familiar with the project who spoke on the condition he not be identified, the demolition portion of the buildings will take only a couple of days. The fill from the stone buildings will be used to fill in basements in two of the structures. While three buildings will be razed, a fourth circular structure will be left standing, according to a worker. That structure, to which there is no ground-level entrance, was filled with sand years ago. The Street Department wants to get the buildings down as soon as possible so that the pieces of heavy equipment being used will not have to be parked overnight at the secluded site any longer than necessary. The city will be happy to have the buildings, which last month City Manager Jeff LaGarce said represented ongoing safety hazards, reduced to rubble as soon as possible. Despite efforts to keep them boarded up, they were frequently wide open, thanks to vandals and the curious. The citys decision to finally bring the long-vacant buildings down might have been spurred by an incident last fall when two children became stuck for a time in one of the buildings before being safely removed. The City Council approved the proposed demolition at its Dec. 18 meeting. The city, however, waited a while before moving forward with the project to give time to step forward to any private contractor interested in performing the work for the salvage rights of the stone structures. And while there was some interest in such a deal, ultimately it has fallen to Street Department personnel to complete the task. While Leon Wallace, Street Department superintendent, did have to coordinate with the BNSF Railway to provide a flagger when city equipment was being moved across the railroad tracks to the site, that was probably the biggest procedural hurdle. No further red tape was encountered since the 8.1 acre plat of city-owned land is not in the citys historic district.

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Old sewer plant demolition begins

Watershed moments for the old South St. campus of Victoria Hospital will occur just two days apart next week.

On Jan. 30, the public will be invited inside the venerable main building for one last time to attend a planning workshop aimed at coming up with a plan to chart the future of the hospital block and seven or eight surrounding blocks.

Two days later, the first steps to demolish the nearly 138-year-old London institution begin.

By the end of the year, the roughly $15-million job should be done and the land allocated for a hospital in 1874 will revert to city ownership.

The demolition covers buildings on the south side of South St. A few of the buildings in the hospital complex will be spared, particularly the Colborne building and War Memorial Childrens Hospital on the north side. The city hopes to find a new use for the heritage properties.

The province is picking up the lions share of the cost.

Contribution from the hospital and more than $3 million from the city will also cover the demolition costs . Precise details of the cost-sharing are confidential and still under discussion between the city and London Health Sciences Centre.

We are hoping to create a great new urban neighbourhood for London, city planner John Fleming said Wednesday.

The city prepared a community improvement plan for the SoHo area that called for development of a specific secondary plan for the hospital area blocks. They include one immediately west of the hospital land where Fincore Canada is proposing two 26-storey towers in a wellness centre.

Fleming said the plan will boost downtown revitalization and help the core reconnect with the Thames.

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Demolition of antiquated South St. Victoria Hospital campus begins in February

TOLEDO, OH (Toledo News Now) -

Demolition of the former NorthTowne Square Mall is now under way.

City officials anticipate the work will takethree months to complete, with hopesof speeding up redevelopment plans for the property locatednear Alexis and Telegraph.

The city took control of the property from the previous owner who was late on taxes and public utility bills.

Money for the demolition is coming from a revolving EPA loan fund, which the city expects to get back when the property is sold. The Super Fitness facility is not affected by the former mall's demolition.

Councilman Rob Ludeman says the city will be aggressive to find a new owner and employer for the land.

"With the city, we can reach out to commercial realtors and developers in our area, and hopefully get that property reoccupied in a good use. It is zoned industrial, so there's a lot of good possibilities there," explained Ludeman.

Ludeman believes the former Southwyck Mall property would already be redeveloped if the city had control of that property.

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Former NorthTowne Mall demolition under way

Demolition of the old Grand Bay Hotel along Bayshore Drive in Coconut Grove began on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013, to make way for a pair of twisting glass towers. (Source: Chuck Fadely / Miami Herald Staff)

COCONUT GROVE (CBSMiami) As the walls came tumbling down on Tuesday, spectators watched and expressed mixed feelings about the demolition of the iconic Grand Bay Hotel in Coconut Grove.

This piece of Miamis history is being torn downtown make way for a future $400 million dollar pair of glass condo towers.

The Grand Bay opened its doors back in back in 1983 to serve as hotel and held the Regines nightclub. With its sleek pyramid structure, Grand Bay became a hot spot for tourist in South Florida.

It was a beautiful hotel. Very, very active, Tony Tremols, a Coconut Grove resident since 1984, told the Miami Herald. It was a landmark.

The once Mobil five-star rated hotel would later sit empty for years due to foreclosure.

Julian Fernandez, who works nearby, told the paper that he has high hopes for the post-Grand Bay site, set to begin construction in the spring.

Another bystander, Alfredo Guzman, told the Herald that he didnt think that the destruction of the building was necessary.

I dont agree, but what can I do? he asked as the wrecking ball smashed into the building. I dont believe in destroying to build all the time. It never stops.

The condo towers are expected to be opened in 2014.

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Demolition Begins At Iconic Grove Hotel