WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | Neighbors Prepare for Stubb's Tower Demolition
Member Center:
From the NC State simulation.
SAVANNAH, GA--In three days, a building that's towered over Savannah's east side for many years will be no more. A demolition crew will pack John Marcus Stubb's Tower, a now vacant 15-story senior apartment complex, with explosives and implode the building Saturday at 8am. The people who live and work in the area are about to see their neighborhood undergo a swift, massive change.
Stubb's Tower has been the view from Hazel Bellamy's front yard for the entire 29 years she's lived here, but that's about to change.
"It's exciting," said Bellamy. "It's very exciting."
On Saturday, Bellamy will be one of many people watching on TV as Stubb's Tower comes down.
"They said it would be something like a heavy thunderstorm," she said, explaining what city workers told her and her neighbors about this weekend's demolition.
Stubb's Tower was built in 1968. The building has been vacant after the people who lived there were forced out when it flooded in 2004. The Housing Authority of Savannah had already scheduled it for demolition.
A computer simulation developed by a North Carolina State University graduate student shows how Stubb's Tower should come down. The building will be fitted with explosives in such a way that the structure should collapse from the center while the two ends of the building should fall inward. Engineers hope their work will help design safer buildings.
The city has asked Bellamy and three of her neighbors to evacuate just as a precaution. Bellamy said she's confident her house will be OK and that the view will only get better from here.
"Ever since they moved the senior citizens out it's been an eyesore over there," she said.
Bellamy and her neighbors aren't the only ones leaving. Since the city's closing off a two block radius around the demolition, nearby businesses, like Discount Corner convenience store, will open later that day in a very different neighborhood.
"You're so used to seeing the building when you come outside," said LaTisha Brady, who works at Discount Corner. "To see nothing there is going to be a little strange for a little while."
It won't be empty for long. Bellamy and her neighbors are looking forward to enjoying the park that will take the place of Stubb's Tower.
"That should be exciting for the neighborhood, especially if they had a walking trail where you could walk around. I would enjoy that," she said.
Police are guarding the building 24 hours a day to keep people out. The City of Savannah is asking you to watch the demolition from home on TV where you'll have the best view and be safe. Of course, you'll see it right here live on WTOC on THE News at Daybreak, Saturday at 8am.
Reported by: Liz Flynn, lflynn@wtoc.com
