MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - The implosion of the building that once housed South Shore Hospital took place in Miami Beach without a hitch.
7News cameras captured the remnants of the building after it was reduced to a pile of rubble, Tuesday morning.
BG Group LLC and Blaster Controlled Demolitions Inc. imploded the vacant structure in the 600 block of Alton Road.
Crews said the demolition all went according to plan.
“We’re very happy. It’s a blast,” said Ivy Fradin, a managing member of BG Group Demolition.
Cameras placed at a safe distance from the building captured the moment it came down.
“It went beautifully,” said Fradin. “The building fell in the footprint, exactly where we wanted it to, so it was a very good day.”
The building had been abandoned for more than a decade.
Fradin explained what went into ensuring the building was ready for the implosion.
“We were prepping the building’s interior for the past three weeks by wrapping the columns, the chain-link fence, geotech fabric, making sure they modified the shear walls, so that when the explosives were loaded it would implode and fall right into its footprint,” she said.
The demolition drew spectators like a couple visiting from Montreal.
“Yeah, it was pretty impressive,” said the man.
“Very loud and very impressive, yeah,” said the woman.
Developers plan to use the property for a new three-acre park, residential high-rise and retail shops.
“We’re modeling it after Bryant Park, so we’re gonna have pavilions with micro-retail, we’re gonna have amazing playgrounds that are being designed by super cool artists, a lot of performance space,” said Terra Group President David Martin.
“It’s gonna be the first major park on the west side of Miami Beach,” said Pedro Martin, the company’s co-founder, “and the tower will take advantage of those views and that view corridor that you see between the two buildings out toward the port and the south bay.”
Work on the park is set to begin later this year with completion in around a year to a year and a half.
Construction of the high-rise will commence right after the park is completed.
“We’re very excited for the city and for the community,” said David Martin.
Fradin also explained the process to allow the demolition to happen.
“We had to get permission to be allowed to implode the structure,” she said, “and once we got that, we applied for and received all of our building permits and all of the sub-permits that went with that.”
Prior to the implosion, a security check was conducted to make sure the exclusion zone was entirely free of pedestrian or vehicular activity.
The implosion was scheduled to occur at 10 a.m. but due to a delay in the security checks it took place approximately 15 minutes later.
Residents and visitors in the area were warned of loud horns and sirens that would be sounded minutes before the demolition.
Road closures in the area began at 8:30 a.m.
The exclusion zone extended from West to Lenox avenues and from Fifth to Seventh streets.
Over on the MacArthur Causeway, traffic was at a standstill as a Miami Beach Police cruiser blocked off access to Fifth Street and Alton Road.
Delays extended to the mainland.
Streets in the area have since reopened.
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