Diamond Products building, with Central Corridor Operations and Maintenance Facility at right. MPR Photo/Tim Nelson
The sprawling shampoo factory at the edge of Lowertown begins its demise today. The city of St. Paul says interior demolition on the 650,00 square foot Diamond Products site will start today. It’s the start of a four-month demolition process.
Rachel Contracting, of St. Michael, says it intends to recycle 90 percent of the building materials from the demolition. It’s the same outfit that recently took down the Brookdale mall, and the former 3M campus in St. Paul.
Exterior demolition of the building is scheduled to start July 15th, and the city is offering assurances that it won’t damage Metro Transit’s Operations and Maintenance Facility, built literally up against the Diamond Products factory. There will be a “Demolition Event” in Lowertown on Saturday, July 13, to mark the occasion.
The $63 million (originally $54 million) project is scheduled to take about two years. The St. Paul Saints are scheduled to throw out their first pitch in June, 2015.
