Demolition has begun at the former Gunzenhauser Bakery building at the corner of North Prince and West Clay streets.
A backhoe could be seen Tuesday removing material from the northeast corner of the building at 801 N. Prince St., one of two structures remaining at the site.
As reported last month, the building was damaged in a 1999 fire and has been vacant ever since. Historic preservationists had hoped it could be saved. However, city officials agreed with the assessment of an engineer retained by the property owner, Charter Homes, who determined that it was structurally unsound.
The other building on the site was designed by celebrated architect C. Emlen Urban. Mayor Danene Sorace says Charter is planning to retain and repurpose it as part an overall redevelopment of the block.
Sorace said the city is reviewing its property maintenance and demolition policies to see if more can be done to ensure historic buildings are not allowed to deteriorate until they are too far gone to save.
