(Photo by Peter de Lory, courtesy HPIC)

“Things are now ready for this big step in our rebuilding process.” So said Highland Park Improvement Club trustee Kay Kirkpatrick, announcing that the long-awaited demolition of what’s left of HPIC’s century-old building will finally start tomorrow (Monday, September 30). It’s now been three and a quarter years since the fire that ravaged the community-owned building, an epicenter of events for decades, even a community food hub during the pandemic. Back in July, HPIC held a farewell event, planned before they had discovered they’d face unexpected delays, “some additional asbestos found that had to be removed by Eco Environmental Services,” Kirkpatrick summarizes. But now they’re ready to get going with the teardown at 7 am Monday: “Metis Construction is our general contractor, and Fed Excavation is handling the demo.” HPIC is still raising money to pay for the replacement building, so the construction timeline isn’t finalized yet. (A city grant is helping with demolition costs and “site preservation” so the 12th/Holden site [map] can be used for events before construction.)