At the final 2014 meeting of the Port St. Joe city commission, city attorney Tom Gibson reported that the contract for demolition on the abandoned Gulf Pines Hospital structure was in hand.

“It’s time to bring that thing down,” said Gibson.

The building will be demolished by D.H. Griffin Companies out of Birmingham, A.L. and according to commissioners, contractors are expected to work from dawn until dusk to bring the structure down in a timely manner.

The project is expected to cost the city approximately $293,000. The former parking lot will be removed by the city at an anticipated cost of $1,500.

At a previous meeting commissioners discussed whether to borrow from the city’s contingency fund or use settlement money awarded from BP due to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010.

City manager Jim Anderson said he preferred that BP money was utilized for the project and commissioners agreed to borrow the necessary funds.

Once the Gulf Pines structure is demolished the property will be divided into six separate residential lots.