Demolition of old Hills Department Store building in Norton Shores to begin this month

NORTON SHORES, MI -- A long awaited demolition project that will lead to a more picturesque Norton Shores will begin later this month.

City officials announced Monday that Melching Inc. Demolition & Dismantling of Nunica will start razing the half-demolished building that once housed a Hills Department Store on March 27.

The work is a response to a court order by Muskegon County Chief Circuit Judge William C. Marietti.

The judge, in a trial opinion dated Jan. 6, said the building owner had 90 days to finish demolishing the structure located near the corner of Seaway Drive and Seminole Road.

Melching, who demolished the Sappi Paper Mill, will raze the structure on behalf of owner Talmer Bancorp, Inc., formerly known as Michigan Commerce Bank and Muskegon Commerce Bank.

The site, which also once housed an expanded Irwin's Home Furnishing location, had been part of the original, 17-acre Eastowne urban village plan.

However, former Eastowne developer, Town Centres LLC of Holland, lost the property to the bank, which lent the company money to fund the urban village project.

Scott Rogalla, general manager at Melching, said Wednesday the project will take about 2 to 3 weeks to complete. The company recently obtained a permit from Norton Shores to complete the work and is also required to give the Michigan Department of Environment Quality a 10-day notice to complete the demolition, he said.

Mayor Gary Nelund said the permit the company took out implied the work will be completed by April 20, two weeks after the court-ordered deadline, but the city is unbothered.

"If they need the two extra weeks, they're fine. We've been waiting for this to happen for six years so we can wait an extra two weeks," Nelund said.

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Demolition of old Hills Department Store building in Norton Shores to begin this month