Demolition of Owen Drive shopping center underway

Time has expired on the Palomino.

The last site of the shuttered nightclub, which played host to such country music acts as Trace Adkins, Gary Allan, Jo Dee Messina, Wade Hayes and David Allan Coe over its long run at two Owen Drive locations, was expected to be demolished by Friday.

The Palomino last operated from 2885 Owen Drive in a shopping center at Owen Drive and Southern Avenue. The country music establishment and the shopping center property had a history of shootings, fights, stabbings and other assaults, according to Fayetteville police.

The Palomino also was the scene of a 2009 murder.

The city of Fayetteville ordered the demolition of the Owen Drive shopping center in October 2013. Officials said it had become an eyesore. But the authorization to level the structure was delayed to allow Parker Pawn, an existing business on the premises, to relocate.

The pawnshop moved across Owen Drive in the fall.

"This dangerous and unsightly structure has been a blighting influence on the Massey Hill neighborhood for years," the city said in a release issued this week. "Asbestos removal is complete and the contractor, Greenway Waste Solutions, plans to start taking the structure down this week."

The demolition cost is $291,411, which will become a lien on the property to be collected through foreclosure or when the property is sold, according to the release.

On Thursday morning, a couple of Cat heavy equipment excavators with claws were busting down other parts of the old shopping center. The walls of the Palomino were still standing, but project manager Frank Johnson said he anticipated that section of the building being razed over the next couple of days.

Those who frequented Fayetteville's nightlife during the 2000s may recall the Palomino was separated by a long wall from the South Beach nightclub. Both operated beside a Family Dollar store that, three years ago, moved into a free-standing building in front of the shopping center.

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Demolition of Owen Drive shopping center underway