The Port of San Diego will initiate the third phase of demolishing the former BF Goodrich south campus, removing yet another obstacle to the region's bayfront redevelopment.

In 1999, Goodrich Corp sold the south campus -- an area of approximately 870,000 square feet with 62 buildings -- to a joint entity of the port, the city of Chula Vista and the Chula Vista Redevelopment Agency. The port started demolishing the campus nearly two years ago, and began the second stage in August 2006.

The project includes removal of the remaining 15 structures on the former campus, as well as demolition of the pavement, building foundations and utilities in the H Street corridor. Stripping the corridor will make room for the future H Street roadway extension, a key part of the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan.

To encourage diversity and allow smaller companies to bid on the demolition project, the port has contracted with Miller Environmental, a different company than those used for the first two phases, said Linda Scott, capital project manager with the port.

"We broke up the demolition into several projects to give (small) contractors a chance," she said.

Scott added Miller Environmental will need to carefully plan out the demolition to avoid disturbing the nearby nest of ospreys, a protected bird species. The birds are expected to leave the nest in September.

The port is aiming to recycle most of the debris. It succeeded in salvaging 87 percent of materials in phase 1 and 92 percent in phase 2. The actual demolition will be preceded by two to three weeks of cleanup and abatement of hazardous materials such as asbestos and electrical transformers. The port will also salvage copper piping for recycling.

The estimated cost for this third stage is $4.8 million, compared with approximately $1 million and $700,000 for the first and second phases, respectively. The port expects the demolition to be complete in November 2007. It also has organized a kickoff event, with Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox, board of port commissioners Chair Sylvia Rios and Commissioner Mike Najera expected to participate.