Demolition begins on final Watch Tower Plaza structure

One of the last steps toclearing the way for aWalmart SuperCenter store in the 3900 block of 11th Street, Rock Island, has begun.

The Hill & Valley Premium Bakery building is the final structure that needed to come down to clear the site. Demolition of the building and the entire parking lot is expected to take about three weeks,Jeff Eder, the community and economic development director for the city of Rock Island, said.

"Demolition on the building should be done by the end of the week. Then they have to pull up the foundation. That should take about two weeks. Then we pull up the parking lot. That is probably three weeks' worth of work, maybe longer."

Eder also said the bakery has moved into its newlocation at the Quad-City Industrial Center in Rock Island.

And while Walmart has not officially signed a contract to build on the property, Mayor Dennis Pauley is not worried. He said that is the waythe Arkansas retailer handles new stores.

"I talked to Walmart last week, and they are going through all their due diligence," he said. "They like to have everything ready to go when they make the final call.

"There is nothing to indicate they will pull out. If their answer was no, Walmart would not have a problem telling me that. They do over 100 stores a year and like to make sure everything is clear. Every time I call them, they have their standard answer, they are in the process of approval."

He said the city has a commitment to be completed with all demolition by May 1 and it appeared that work is well ahead of schedule.

The bakery is consolidating operations from three existing buildings at its new location at 320 44th St. The 136,000-square-foot bakery, office and warehouse have allowed the company to expand its capacity and reduce its reliance on third-party warehouses.

The company's relocation meets the goals of the broader Columbia Park Redevelopment Plan approved by the Rock Island City Council in 2006. The city and Central States Development Partners Inc., a certified community development entity managed by the Rock Island Economic Growth Corporation, were major proponents of the project.

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Demolition begins on final Watch Tower Plaza structure