NATCHEZ, Miss. – A demolition company has been picked to tear down the downtown Fry building as plans for renovating the adjacent Eola hotel remain alive amid questions whether it’ll actually happen.
Work is set to begin for the Fry in early August with pollution-abatement measures taken first before the asbestos-ridden building is knocked down, said Trey Hess, the consultant hired by Natchez aldermen and Mayor Dan Gibson to manage the project.
The city-owned building is expected to be leveled by mid-October, according to the schedule Hess presented Tuesday to city officials.
The Board of Aldermen selected Environmental Abatement Inc. of Tennessee to tear down the multistory building at the corner of South Pearl and Franklin streets at a cost of about $745,000. Federal and state funds are covering the costs. EAI was the lowest of three demolition bids submitted.
The former office building and land have been contaminated with hazardous asbestos and other pollutants.
As the building’s demolition causes dust and debris, steps will be taken “to protect human health and safety and doing it the right way,” said Hess, who noted he and various environmental protection monitors will oversee the project.
The site is to become a parking lot for the yet-to-be renovated Eola hotel next door. While bedeviled with years of delays and financial hang-ups, “the Eola is going to happen,” Gibson said.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded Natchez a $1.2 million grant for the Fry’s clean-up and demolition expenses, and the state Department of Environmental Quality provided the city a $500,000 loan for this if needed.
EAI – the demolition company tearing down the Fry – lists various projects its done, including razing The Tennessean newspaper building in Nashville and Sam’s Town casino and hotel in Tunica.
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