Piece by piece, demolition crews continue dismantling the once-familiar building that was the Museum of Science and History on the Southbank.
With two different projects concurrently underway – the MOSH building demolition and the construction of Related Group’s Southbank Residences – Museum Circle is abuzz with activity as one landmark comes down, with a new one poised to rise.
Demolition of the MOSH building began earlier this summer, following the issuance of a demolition permit in February of this year for the building and its foundation. Jacksonville-based Elev8 Demolition is the contractor completing the demolition.
Downtown Investment Authority CEO Colin Tarbert said demolition is expected to be complete by mid-September, after which the lot will be used for temporary public parking with the goal of eventually putting it out for disposition for development.
“There’s two things, though,” Tarbert said. “One is that Related [Group] does have a first right of offer on the property as part of their current deal with the City, and that’s kind of the extent of it, so we still have to navigate that piece of it, but the goal would be to hopefully have a competitive process to find a developer to develop the site.”
Tarbert added that there is currently no timeline for when that process will begin.