A developer overseeing the redevelopment of the condemned old Salisbury Mall in Salisbury, MD said he hopes demolition will begin before June.

Contracts have yet to be signed, but the property managers have settled on a Hebron-based firm, Precision Grading Services LLC, to tear down the blighted building. While the company has not worked on any demolition projects in the area, owner Scot Corrizeau said he and others in his business have more than 20 years combined experience in such projects.

"We're going to tear that building down from the inside out," Corrizeau said. "We're going to strip the material from the inside, take the roof off and then the outer walls. Every recyclable material will be recycled including concrete, brick and we'll even try the sheet rock."

The property owners represented by Jon Natelson and Mike Dzaman of Chesapeake Bay Realty Ventures are finalizing the contracts with Precision Grading and another company that will be contracted to deal specifically with any hazardous or environmentally unsafe materials such as lead and asbestos, Corrizeau said.

The contract process has run into snags which Natelson wouldn't elaborate on.

"There are little snags to get to a final contract and we're in the middle of trying to get it down," Natelson said. "We're down to a couple of contractors. Basically the point at which we lock down a contractor we will be ready to sign a contract and start almost immediately."

Corrizeau said that as soon as Natelson gives him the go-ahead, he'll proceed, adding that he expects the demolition to take between four and six months. "I'm looking forward to building a relationship with Chesapeake Bay Realty Ventures."

After the City Council approved the Tax Increment Financing tool to fund public infrastructure costs associated with the redevelopment and the developers signed a settlement with mall petitioners, Natelson said demolition would likely begin by the end of April.

In one month, Natelson is scheduled to appear before the Board of Housing Adjustments and Appeals for a hearing about the demolition order. If the demolition has begun before June 4, the appeal of the order will become moot.

"I'm frustrated it's taken as long as it's taken," Natelson said. "So I'm hesitant to speculate when it will happen. I'd like to see it happen as soon as possible. What we're struggling with right now is tearing up the parking lot."

Tearing up the parking lot, which is not included in the demolition order, will be complicated because of the utilities such as the storm water management system that lies underground.

"You have to be really careful when messing around with that, otherwise you could create a giant mud puddle," Natelson said.

Before the developers and contractors can get a demolition permit, four divisions --water, soil conservation, public works and finally the Depart-ment of Building Permits and Inspections must sign off on it, said Nicole Assleta, administrative office associate. The permit has a $125 fee, she said.

"It's all fairly easy," Assleta said. "Once the permit is issued the demolition can usually begin within a day or two. Usually most demolitions come down pretty quick. Developers want it done and out of the way. Contractors want to get paid."

Bulldozers and wrecking balls will not roll onto the property right after the contracts are signed, Natelson said. First the demolition crews will have to work on the interior of the building and take out things like the fluorescent light fixtures, which could have environmental material that must be specially removed and not simply dumped into a landfill, he said. There may also be traces of lead in the building and the glue holding floor tiles together may have small amounts of asbestos, he said.

After these materials are handled, the demolition crews will take down the building, disassemble the steel structures and recycle the steel on site. The hard materials will be crushed and used for the road bed of the redevelopment project, he said.

"It's ideal material to use for a road bed," he said.

In the meantime, Natelson said he's been in contact with inspectors from Neighborhood Services and Code Compliance every week. He recently had a phone call about a piece of ply wood torn off the building.

Susan Phillips, housing supervisor for NSCC, said a the property has had a total of 19 violations since June 2005. The violation descriptions consisted of weeds, rubbish, board-ups, graffiti, demolition and condemnation.

There are currently three open cases -- weeds, the demolition order and the condemned letter, she said. The Depart-ment of Finance reports that there are no outstanding fees associated with the property. The condemned letter will remain open until either the building is brought up to code or demolished, Phillips said.