County officials on Wednesday will recommend Ottawa, KS based Scott Construction be selected to demolish the first two buildings in the downtown Wichita arena site.

The first two buildings to go will be 302 S. Emporia and 337 S. St. Francis, which formerly were home to Contract Furnishings and a rim-straightening business, respectively.

All told, the county will tear down 16 buildings in the arena site. The county has issued five more bid packages for demolition.

Work is expected to start in July with plans to have the site cleared in September.

The county has budgeted $1 million for demolition.

Pending approval on Wednesday by the Sedgwick County Commission, Scott Construction will have 30 days to tear down the first two structures at a cost of 39,375.50.

The company beat out three others -- Litco Products Distribution, Absolute Demolition and National Builders Inc. -- to win approval Monday by the Sedgwick County Board of Bids and Contracts.