Demolition to begin Monday on East Walnut Street apartments

Demolition work is set to begin Monday on three dilapidated apartment buildings on the 900 block of East Walnut Street in Carbondale.

Dr. Michael Schifano, a representative of the developers preparing to break ground on a 20,000-square-foot medical/retail complex planned for the spot, said all parties are eager to kick off the razing.

(The seller) wants to get rid of it; we want to get into it, said Schifano, a founding doctor and managing partner of Heartland Womens Healthcare. Everybodys motivated to move.

The demo initially was slated to begin earlier this week but Schifano said those plans were pushed back when a utilities provider delayed disconnecting service.

Ryan Rawson of Carbondale-based Rawson Excavating said his company will employ a track hoe to reduce the building to rubble. The process will take between 10 and 15 days to complete.

Traffic lanes on East Walnut Street will not be impacted, Rawson said.

Ashton Stephens, director of marketing and public relations for Heartland Womens Healthcare, said last week her group has set a target completion date of May 2015 for the new facility, which will contain a 7,000-square-foot OB/GYN clinic, a 3,000-square-foot pediatric office and 10,000 square feet of retail space.

Last month, the Carbondale City Council approved a request to rezone the property from high-density residential to secondary business.

City Manager Kevin Baity said hes excited to see a fresh faade go up along that stretch of East Walnut Street, near the citys entryway.

When someone comes in and is willing to make an investment in that area, thats always nice, he said. Those apartments have been there for a great number of years and have probably exceeded their useful life.

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Demolition to begin Monday on East Walnut Street apartments