Demolition of the Statesman Towers on the campus of Indiana State University has begun.

The first hit of the wrecking ball to the East Tower started at 11 a.m. These towers, built in the late 1960’s, were originally used as residence halls and then later as the Schools of Education and Business.

Even though the first hit didn’t take place until Monday, crews have been at the scene since February trying to recycle as much as possible. The total demolition will taken an estimated four to five months with the majority of that time spent removing debris.

“We want to do as much recycling on this project as possible,” said Bryan Duncan, Director of Capital Planning and Improvement. “It’s not a huge footprint from the towers, but it’ll become green space between two existing parking lots.”

The total cost for this project will be about $1.9 Million.

Renascent, Inc. based in Indianapolis is doing the demolition