Jacksonville's longtime skyline scourge, the unfinished Berkman II tower, came crashing down over the weekend, leaving a dusty pile of rubble.
Now what happens to the 15,000 tons of twisted metal and concrete?
Pece of Mind Environmental, the Orlando-based demolition and environmental remediation company that handled the implosion, said clearing the site within 60 days won't be a problem.
The leftover rubble will be crushed and hauled off to be recycled for use in future construction projects, said company founder Steve Pece.
Jacksonville has a handful of concrete and construction material recycling plants, Pece Operations Manager John Lopez said. The company hasn't decided which vendor to use, but "100% of the structure will be recycled," he said.
The Berkman II tower sat unfinished at the river for nearly 15 years after a parking garage attached to the project collapsed, killing one worker and injuring several more in 2007. A previous attempt to demolish the building using a special crane was unsuccessful, and its implosion had to be rescheduled multiple times, leading to Pece of Mind almost pulling out of the project until the city took over.
Developer Riverfront Revitalization of Jacksonville, which owns the site, is seeking to construct a 40-story tower with a mix of condos and apartments where the Berkman II once stood.
