The city will solicit contractor proposals starting Monday for demolition of the old Washington Commons mall and adjoining former J.C. Penney store.

City Public Works Director Ed Wiesner said proposals will be due Jan. 17, and the long-awaited demolition could begin about a month later.

Contractors have already shown an interest in tackling the job, Wiesner said, adding that he expects some proposals to come from out of state.

"We've had a lot of interest," he said. "It's a big project."

The 440,000-square-foot former shopping mall, which drew shoppers downtown for nearly 30 years, has been closed since 2006.

The demolition is intended to pave the way for Schreiber Foods Inc. to spend $50 million building new corporate headquarters and a technology center at the site.

When Schreiber announced its plans in June, city officials originally planned to have the site cleared by this month. Demolition was delayed while Schreiber worked on its building design and decided whether to try reusing the old mall's concrete foundation.

As soon as we get more information on the bid package, we'll post it