POCAHONTAS, Va. – In Pocahontas, Virginia, demolition is underway on a long-standing building as part of a larger revitalization project.
Demolition began this (Thursday) morning on the old Edmonds building at the intersection of Centre Street and West Saint Clair Street.
The town took ownership of the property about five months ago after previous owners attempted—but failed—to restore it in the early 2000s.
Officials explored options to save the structure, but after thorough assessment, they determined it was beyond repair.
This demolition is part of the West Saint Clair Street Project, which focuses on preserving the opera house and additional nearby buildings.
We spoke with Benjamin Gibson, the mayor of Pocahontas, who shared the town’s vision for the site once the demolition and cleanup are complete.
He says, “The future of that lot we’d like to see some kind of development that would benefit our citizens, and I say that is something they can use, whether additional restaurant, even an office building to create jobs. You know, there’s plenty of opportunity. We do have zoning in the town, so it would have to be a commercial unit to go back into that location.”
Gibson also mentions the teardown comes at a cost of over $40,000 and it will take about three to four days to complete demolition, followed by the cleanup process.
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