Thomas Breen photo
Excavator on site at 87 Union.
Demolition has begun at the old Torrco site in Wooster Square, leaving a pyramid of cinderblocks and steel beams that will soon be replaced with nearly 300 new market-rate apartments.
On Monday, demolition crews working with the Shelton-based contractor Whiting Turner were busy tearing apart the 50,000 square-foot building at 87 Union St. that used to house the Torrco plumbing supply company.
Demolition worker hoses down excavator’s aftermath to minimize dust.
The new owners of the property, 44 Olive Limited Partnership, a partnership of the New York City-based developers Epimoni and Adam America, plan to build a new 299-unit, mixed-use apartment complex with 6,100 square-feet of retail space on the Olive Street side.
The developers joined a host of city officials and local economic development boosters to celebrate the ceremonial groundbreaking of the development on March 14.
The soon-to-be-demolished half of the old Torrco building.
Adam America Project Manager Peter Antoniou told the Independent by email that demolition of the old Torrco building began at the end of March.
He anticipates demolition will be finished by the end of May.
He said the developers do not have a confirmed construction start time yet. During the groundbreaking, he said he and Seid hope to have the building up and open by 2021. Per the City Plan Commission’s ruling last July, they technically have until 2025 to finish the project.
Antoniou said that, before demolition, the demolition contractor also abated “minor areas of asbestos” within the existing building.
Thanks to Torrco for supporting the dog park. They were a good neighbor.