MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – From the dust, something beautiful is expected to rise -- 44 stories to be exact.
The Floridian condominium building, complete with retail space, will soon be a part of the Miami Beach landscape.
But before that can happen, the old building on the property in the 600 block of West Avenue – an abandoned South Shore Hospital building – must go. On Tuesday morning, construction workers will implode the building.
All buildings like the Floridian will be secured. Meaning no one in or out. That exclusion zone includes all areas between 5th and 7th streets and Lenox and West avenues. At 8 a.m., the barricades will go up, and at 9 a.m. the exclusion zone will be cleared followed by three horns at 9:59 a.m. indicating 15 seconds till the blast which will happen at 10 a.m.
"I think it’s going to make a mess and I’m not a fan of that," said resident Joe McKenzie.
Drivers will have to pack their patience. They can expect to feel some relief closer to 11 a.m. when things open back up.
The hospital building by the MacArthur Causeway has been abandoned for 10 years and the process to remove it has been long.
This implosion comes less than a year after the deadly demolition of a condo building on Collins Avenue that killed a construction worker.
The developer of this Alton Road project, Russell Galbut, said the demotion plan is secure and safe.
A worker we spoke with agrees.
"I hope this will not go wrong. I believe that these people are doing a good job," said construction worker Joe Rodriguez.