Me too! They appear to be removing asbestos from that eyesore in preparation for its fate. It shouldn't be much longer.

Although shiny new highrises are the ultimate goal, it will be incredible to see how this demolition will clean up the street. It is amazing that I can walk down 1st Street and feel like I'm in a nice area, but then I walk on Fremont and it is a bit scary.

I walked by yesterday and noticed that the demolition timeline states that it will last until 1/26/08. I'm sure they've baked in some time for overruns and for the disposal of the material. I wouldn't be surprised if all three buildings are completely demolished by the new year. What a great Christmas present this is for myself and other Rincon Hill residents. :)

^^^I've never seen a demo permit for the building on the corner where all the homeless sneak in and crash and, believe me, I've looked for one. At 45 Lansing, the actual demo was finished weeks or even months before the expiration of the street use permit. Hope you aren't disappointed about that corner building but I think you may be.

Perhaps I mis-spoke. Its not the same demo permit as you saw at 45 Lansing or on the buildings themselves. The demolition team has closed off the sidewalk and there have been signs posted that state that the sidewalk will be closed from 11-21-07 through 1-26-08. I don't know about you, but that's a pretty clear cut sign for me that the demolition will be complete in the next 6 weeks. Another sign is that they have fenced off all the areas, including the homeless shelter.

Gone.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...tDemo-2822.jpg

Next.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...tDemo-2825.jpg

You can just kiss -- kiss WHAT? We need to know!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...tDemo-2821.jpg

The last bits:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...tDemo-2837.jpg

A new pincer machine today:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...tDemo-2838.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...tDemo-2847.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...tDemo-2851.jpg

Yes it is. And here's the visual proof:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2278/...325891fa_b.jpg

They are clearly prepping this thing for its imminent demise. It looks like they've finished the asbestos removal work as those signs are gone, but I could still hear workmen inside. And just to make sure, I asked the supervisor-looking gentleman from Silverado who confirmed everything to the corner is coming down. His guess was that they'd start construction in Spring.

As Dave's photo above shows, the auto body shop is ready for demo as well. Here's another view of it:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2126/...3ebd6810_b.jpg

Incidentially, the Apostleship of the Sea is a Catholic sailor's organization, AFAICS. Was this building converted for use as a homeless shelter, or are you guys referring to random squatters?

Here are a few shots I took maybe an hour before Dave's.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2057/...4cc9be49_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2350/...ac783101_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2255/...e6cf52fc_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2286/...a9a696f6_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2420/...e33d1414_b.jpg

Actually, both. It was converted to a homeless shelter and most recently was used by squatters (as was the auto body shop).

I like that third to last one. The auto body shop seems pretty insubstantial. They'll probably get it down lightning quick.

Thanks! Yeah, it's much smaller and it looks like they'll rip right through it.

As much as I'd like to see construction start in the spring, I think two key things need to happen first for this to occur.

1 - Fifield needs to find another developer to buy the property.
2 - The housing market needs to pick up somewhat or the mortgage market needs to loosen.

Chomping up the rubble:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...tDemo-2932.jpg

Interesting how they can separate out the rebar from the concrete so easily. No "trees" in sight.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...tDemo-2937.jpg

He said it without much conviction. I'm pretty sure he had at least the second caveat in mind. As much as I want to see this and the second ORH rise together across from each other, I don't see it happening. Frankly, I'd be happy to see construction start on this anytime next year.

For some reason it appears to be necessary to strip off this wooden cladding before demolishing the auto body shop:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...tDemo-3027.jpg

Despite the huge size of this machine, the operator has little difficulty maneuvering it such that only the wood is removed:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...tDemo-3035.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...tDemo-3039.jpg

^It makes recycling the wood products easier if you don’t have to sift through all the rubble. :tup:

Most of the body shop was a big empty space, now gone:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...tDemo-3112.jpg

Sorting rebar:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...tDemo-3119.jpg

This is the last photo set until after Christmas, peanut gallery will have to keep us updated! :)

Wow, that Body Shop went quickly. After hearing all the delays about the Californian I was beginning to think that the homeless shelter never would get torn down.

Will do, at least for another week. I'll be away from the city most of the two weeks between 12/21 and 1/7. I'll probably pop down sometime in there and will try to swing by the usual spots. Have a good trip, Dave!