After years standing dormant, two riverfront properties are finally coming down.

Demolition crews are scheduled to begin tearing down the old Mercy Hospital, which has stood on the corner of Dayton and Second streets for more than 114 years.

The same contractors began Wednesday dismantling Bambo Harris, a 141-unit public housing project on Front Street.

The hospital demolition is planned to begin with Gonzaga Hall near Buckeye Street and take months to completely tear down the hospital and clear the site.

"There will be no implosion; you won't see a ball or crane," said Jim Arnett, project manager with Michigan-based J&L Management. "A lot of folks have the impression demolition is much more violent than it actually is."

Arnett's team has been working since early January to remove asbestos and
other hazardous materials from the old hospital to prepare it for demolition.

When the project is finished, the 7-acre hospital site will be a flat piece of grassy ground, waiting for a planned redevelopment project to begin, Arnett said.

City council purchased the Mercy Hospital in 2003 for $200,000 and is paying for demolition with more than $3 million in state and federal grant money received in 2005. The city is working out an agreement with Cincinnati-based Towne Properties for a $12-million riverfront condo and office project to replace the hospital.

The future is less certain for the redevelopment of the Bambo Harris site.
The Butler Metropolitan Housing Authority, which oversees Bambo Harris and more than 1,100 other public housing units in Butler County, plans to pay for the demolition through a mix of grants, loans and special funds, said Tony Blaine, the agency's executive director.

However, BMHA lacks funding to redevelop the site after it has been cleared.
The agency has failed in four attempts to obtain a $20-million HOPE VI grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to erect several smaller residences on the site along with retail properties.

Hamilton Mayor Don Ryan said the city could step in after the buildings come down to encourage development.

Bambo Harris has been vacant since 2000 after the discovery of lead and asbestos on the property.

BMHA is paying $449,000 to fund the demolition, scheduled to take about six months, Arnett said.

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