Demolition begins on old Bellingrath Middle School building

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) -

Demolition work started on Wednesday at the old Bellingrath Middle School on Court Street.

"For our neighborhood, and our community, I think it's the most appropriate thing that could happen at this time."

That's how Lois Johnson describes, the demolition of the old Bellingrath Middle School Building.

Although the middle school has since been rebuilt and reopened, the old building just sat here, creating an eyesore for the community.

"For a good period of time, the residents were saying when are they going to demolish Bellingrath," said Frank Jenkins, President of Haardt Estate Residents Association. "That has been the undercurrent of comments I have received over the past couple years from the residents. They're very pleased to see that demolition has begun, and the comments are positive now."

Besides being an eyesore, the building also attracted trouble because of the easy access it provided.

"The city and school district has moved ahead with something that could have been difficult or trouble making if it had not been done at this time because empty buildings, no matter where they are, can cause all kinds of problems," said former MPS Assistant Superintendent Lois Johnson. "It became a hazard too because the windows had been knocked out and there were things falling from the building that tend to hurt people, so we were pleased when they put the fence around it to keep people from going in there and getting hurt or hurting other people."

Another hazard was found at the demolition site earlier today. Crews found a small piece of asbestos in wrapping on a pipe, which halted demolition.

That piece was eventually removed and demolition resumed.

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Demolition begins on old Bellingrath Middle School building