Denver, Colorado – The old Biomedical Research building at the University of Colorado Hospital was imploded Saturday morning with dozens of detonations. The building at East Ninth Avenue and Colorado Boulevard was demolished at 8 am as a $419 million redevelopment is planned for the location.
The inside of the building was filled with 170 charges, and many locals watched it collapsed after a 30-second explosion. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment had officially cleared the site for demolition and stated it does not contain any asbestos.
Frank Cannon, development director for Denver-based Continuum Partners, said the implosion was chosen as a safer and more convenient alternative to dismantling the building. Cannon added that the building was imploded in order to carry out a new development, which will include a 12 city blocks with apartments, offices, retail shops, and a hotel.
About 1,100 residential units are planned for the space, with around 10%t of those being affordable housing units. Cannon hopes eight of the 12 city blocks will be completed within the next five years.
Mayor Michael Hancock was stationed across the street from the building, eager to watch the implosion. “It’s on every mayor’s agenda to push the button and implode a building to make way for progress,” Hancock said.
He said the community was excited and involved in the redevelopment process.
Source: CBS Local