Demolition of 10th Avenue armory begins

ARMORY DEMOLITION

02-04-13 -- Tuscaloosa, Ala. -- Demolition work has started on the National Guard Armory on 10th Ave. in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Monday, Feb. 4, 2013. The Armory was damaged beyond repair during the April 27, 2011 tornado. (Dusty Compton / Tuscaloosa News)

TUSCALOOSA | Demolition has begun on the former armory on 10th Avenue, beginning the process of converting the area into a new park and green space for West Tuscaloosa residents.

The work is taking place directly across the street from the infrastructure work on Rosedale Courts Phase II, a $13 million development that will consist of 86 housing units under the operation of the Tuscaloosa Housing Authority.

Phase II construction is taking place in the shadow of Rosedales Phase I, for which a ribbon cutting ceremony was held last month on the $18.5 million complex with 88 affordable living units.

The decision to convert the former Armed Forces Reserve Center to a public park area for these and other residents was endorsed in December by the City Councils Public Projects Committee after a University of Alabama plan to use the facility fell apart.

A final decision to use the space as a park has yet to be made by the City Council, but the demolition and site clearing work expected to take approximately a month, city officials said indicates that this approval is imminent.

The university intended to use the building to house UAs fleet of school-owned vehicles, garage services and its environmental health department.

But a requirement under the facility take-over plan with the U.S. Department of Defense, which managed the armory, required the university to use the existing buildings and did not allow for demolition.

At first, it appeared the damage to the building caused by the tornado of April 27, 2011 the roof was damaged and windows blew out did not cause enough structural damage to warrant significant renovations.

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Demolition of 10th Avenue armory begins