Demolition to start April 18 for new convention center

Let the crashing and banging begin.

City Hall has scheduled a news conference for 7 a.m. April 18 at A Avenue NE and Third Street NE to mark the start of demolition to make way for the city's new convention center.

Coming down will be the ballroom above Third Street NE between First and A avenues NE as well as everything in the block next door except for The Roosevelt apartments.

The convention center will go up around The Roosevelt and on what had been Third Street NE next to the hotel and U.S. Cellular Center arena.

The center is being upgraded and the hotel , now city owned, renovated as part of the Convention Complex project.

The total price tag for the work exceeds $100 million.

The hotel, now closed, is expected to be reopened in late 2012 along with the arena with the convention center opening in early 2013.

There had been some thought that explosives would be used on the site demolition, but Mayor Ron Corbett on Thursday said explosives would not be needed.

D.W. Zinser Co., of Walford, Iowa, is handling the demolition. The company has been at the site for some days, removing asbestos from buildings in preparation for demolition.

The contract with Zinser comes with a project labor agreement between the city and the local building trades council, an agreement that is very likely leading to a court fight.

Gov. Terry Branstad has said he will withhold state funds from public works projects with new project labor agreements, which has put the Convention Complex's $15-million state I-JOBS grant  in jeopardy.

The trades council in recent days has alerted Branstad that it is getting ready to go to court.

The council and city of Cedar Rapids note that the Iowa Supreme Court in recent years has approved the use of project labor agreements.