Infignos Media - Downtown demolition making way for Anniston Justice Center

From Local News

Brought to you by Valley Heating and Cooling

It's hard to stop a Trane. Your local heating and cooling company. Located in Saks at 521 Post Oak Road. Call us at 256-820-3369.

Downtown demolition making way for Anniston Justice Center

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

The sight Monday from Zinn Park in downtown Anniston, looking south across 13th Street, wasn’t exactly what one might call a scenic view.

Beyond the yellow caution tape and next to a deteriorating union hall on the corner of Moore Avenue, a giant pile of concrete, bricks and wood stood in the middle of the block – the remains of a building demolished last week to make room for the new justice center in Anniston.

“It’s going to be a really attractive building,” said Jim Miller, chairman of the Anniston Public Building Authority. “It’s going to look better than all that tumbled down junk that’s there now.”

Where the piles of rubble and construction cranes sat Monday will be the site, in time, of the entrance for the proposed $15 million project, which will include a new police department, municipal court, court magistrate’s office and jail for the city.

It just won’t happen anytime soon.

“That whole block is going to be torn down,” said Don Hoyt, Anniston city manager. “It’s going to be a slow process; it’ll be several months.”

No completion date has been decided on – for the demolition, or for the start of construction. City Planner Toby Bennington said the Public Works Department, which is handling the demolition, is working closely with environmental and design agencies to assure the safety of the project.

“The key to this is it’s very carefully coordinated,” Bennington said. “We don’t just go in and tear all the buildings down.”

The union building, for example, might have some asbestos and lead paint problems, Hoyt said, which need to be addressed before it comes down to avoid health risks.

“It sounds like nasty stuff, but it’s really not a big deal,” Miller said. “We have lots of local people who can take care of it.”

The biggest hurdle of all for the demolition phase will be deciding the fate of the Anniston Land Company building, one of the oldest structures standing in the city.

“The Building Authority doesn’t own the property,” Miller said. “Right now that’s up to the City Council,” he said of the fate of the building.

If the building is demolished, Miller hopes to use the space for additional parking and a possible monument for the historic site where the early leaders of the city conducted real estate transactions.

But the future of the Land Company property shouldn’t halt the construction of the new justice center, which, for Anniston police, can’t come soon enough.

“It’d be nice if it was already here,” said Chief Layton McGrady, a 28-year veteran of the department. “We’re all just glad to see it finally moving forward.”

McGrady said the current police station, built in the 1950s, needed a replacement about 15 years ago. He cited sewage leaks, plumbing problems and a roof that doesn’t always cover the insides from the elements as the main culprits for the deteriorating condition.

In particular, the crime lab and uniform division got the worst of it, according to Capt. Shane Denham.

“It was kind of thanks to gravity,” Denham said, explaining how the design of the building, with the jail and investigative department above, had a damaging effect on the ceiling downstairs.

“We called them gifts from above,” he said about the ceiling tiles that would routinely fall. “Some of them we didn’t even bother to replace anymore.”

As for excitement surrounding the new building, Denham said not everyone is getting his hopes up.

“We’re skeptically optimistic,” Denham said. “A lot of people are saying ‘I’ll believe it when I see it,’ it’s been going on so long now.”

But with one building already taken down, Denham said he thinks plans are finally progressing.

“It think now some guys are saying, ‘Hey, this might actually happen,’” he said.

And once it does, the eyesore across the street from Zinn Park will get a nice-looking facelift, Miller said.

“It’s like making an omelette,” he said. “Sometimes you have to break a few eggs.”

Here's More...

Dental Health is Important for Children's 'Baby Teeth'

only 63 percent of children ages two to four see the dentist at least annually.

Lamb Chops and Red Wine: A Perfect Easter Pairing

consider a classic red variety like Cabernet Sauvignon.

Alabama Department of Public Health issues 2016 Fish Consumption