Demolition work slow going for West Palm Beach’s old City Hall

The old City Hall’s days are numbered in West Palm Beach, but residents marking their calendars for a tear down date might have to flip through a few months first.

Instead of using a wrecking ball, construction workers are reportedly tearing the 1980s-era building apart piece by piece because of its high asbestos content.

The Palm Beach Post reported that, so far, most of the demolition work that began after July 4 has been on the building’s interior. Progress on the outside wont start to be visible until September, and the last pieces are expected to come down by the end of October.

Jon Ward, executive director of West Palm’s Community Redevelopment Agency, told the publication that the piecemeal method is to prevent asbestos fibers from mixing into the downtown area’s air.

West Palm’s old City Hall at 200 Second Street is coming down ahead of a $145 million development from Navarro Lowrey Properties, which is finalizing plans to build a Marriott Autograph Collection Hotel with 210 rooms, 251 upscale rental apartments and 20,370 square feet of retail space with a signature restaurant. The project will also include a 485-space parking garage.

According to the Palm Beach Post, city officials will turn over the property to Navarro Lowrey in November after demolition work is complete. The developer hopes to begin construction immediately afterward and wrap up work after roughly 20 months. Navarro Lowrey bought the land for roughly $11.5 million. [Palm Beach Post] — Sean Stewart-Muniz