Demolition of the massive former Philip Morris cigarette-manufacturing plant at 18th Street and Broadway will begin this morning, with the intent to clear the way for a large commercial venture.

Louisville Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson, U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth and other officials are scheduled to attend a 10:30 a.m. news conference at the site to watch a huge crane owned by Euro Dismantling Services of the United Kingdom begin wrecking the first building.

The 22-acre site is owned by NewBridge Development LLC, which plans to develop the cleared site with restaurants, banks, retailing and perhaps some condominiums.

Fourteen former Philip Morris buildings are to come down. They predate World War II and have more than 600,000 square feet of space; the tallest is eight stories high.

The developers have said the demolition will cost more than $2 million but Euro has agreed to knock off the value of all salvageable material that can be recycled or sold, including glass, steel, aluminum, brass and copper.

In the mid-1980s Philip Morris had nearly 4,000 employees in Louisville, some of them among the best-paid factory workers in the city. The plant was closed in 2000 when the company consolidated operations in North Carolina.