Jacksonville implosion is late, but decisive

After several delays, an 18-story downtown Jacksonville, Florida, building was taken down via implosion in early March.

The demolition date for the Berkman Plaza II building had been pushed back several times, but on Sunday, March 2, the long-awaited implosion finally took place.

Several thousand people gathered to watch the takedown, according to Jacksonville-based WJXT-TV, which the TV station says took about 10 seconds from detonation to collapse. One of the spectators interviewed by the station commented, “I think everybody is glad to see it go.”

Jacksonville’s mayor is quoted by the TV station as saying he had been “working on [completing the demolition process] since my first year in office and it’s been hurdle after hurdle after hurdle.”

Those hurdles included delays related to safety concerns during a proposed dismantling (non-explosive) of the building as well as lining up the project’s timeline with a schedule that could be met by Maryland-based Controlled Demolition Inc. (CDI), the implosion subcontractor. WJXT placed a price tag of $1.2 million on the demolition process.

The former Berkman Plaza II building had been vacant for more than a decade. The developer who owns the land on which it sat plans to build a new 26-story tower and three shorter buildings on the property, according to local media reports.