Florentine demolition starts with exterior wall removal

FLORENCE, S.C. – Exterior demolition has begun on the Florentine building.

Construction workers were hard at work Tuesday afternoon removing an exterior wall of the structure that was built in 1951.

The beginning of exterior demolition work dovetails with information provided by Clint Moore, development director for the city of Florence, last month that demolition was expected to begin during the first part of September. He said then that it will take approximately 30 days to complete.

Once the building has been removed, the site is expected to be developed into a multi-use facility that includes a parking deck, as Florence Mayor Stephen J. Wukela recently told the Florence Rotary Club

The city is well over a month into the demolition process that began in the interior of the building. Already, there have been 45 days of asbestos abatement in the building, and the building’s windows have been removed.

The city received a certificate of appropriateness from its design review board to demolish the building on Nov. 14, 2018, the day after the Florence Historical Commission met and determined that the building held no historical value

The eight-story building was constructed in 1951 and has an area of 31,146 square feet. It was originally named the Aiken House and held 36 efficiency apartments, 12 one-bedroom apartments, two two-bedroom apartments, a rooftop terrace and eight commercial spaces on the ground floor.

Tax records show that the city purchased the building on June 1, 2018 from Ashby Builders LLC for a price of $1.85 million with the goal of redeveloping the site.

MATTHEW CHRISTIAN/MORNING NEWS