BILLINGS — The demolition of the Colonial Apartments in Billings began on Monday morning, marking the end of an era for a building that had become associated with crime and controversy.
RiverStone Health is moving forward with the site, planning to purchase the lot and turn it into an all-encompassing community center.
Click here to watch the demolition of the building:
RiverStone Health CEO Jon Forte said the demolition is a bittersweet moment, but he is looking forward to the space's future.
"This is not three years in the making, this is decades in the making," Forte said Monday morning. "It reached a point of disrepair, and it became, instead of a symbol of community strength, it became a symbol of trauma."
Once a source of affordable housing, the Colonial Apartments building was crumbling. Over the past decade, Billings police responded to 2,000 calls at the property.
"For as many positive and good memories that people had here, there were equally as many traumatic memories: life-ending and life-altering events that occurred here," Forte said. "This is definitely a bittersweet day, you know, the property should’ve never gotten to this point."
Forte said the plans are to turn it into a community center for people living in the area. While details aren't specific, he mentioned it serving a multitude of needs.
"We're taking action to try and create something new and create something that this community can be proud of," Forte said. "Somewhere where folks can come and receive access to improved and increased housing, maybe a grocery store and food access, substance abuse treatment."
At this time, RiverStone Health still needs to purchase the lot, which Forte said his team is currently working on finalizing.
"When we're done, this isn't just going to be a lot," Forte said. "It's going to be something this area can be proud of."
But not everyone is happy with the demolition. Cris Love was among the many people who came to watch the building be destroyed. Love said he was sad to see it go.
"I’ve been in there many of times," Love said. "I’ve known people that have lived there. To watch history get destroyed once again, because this is all area that I grew up to that’s pretty well historic. I felt like it should be saved."
Love was not alone in believing the building deserved another chance. Despite claims from the City of Billings that the building was not structurally sound, Cameron Moylan with the Montana Monuments Foundation insisted renovation was a possible solution.
"Structurally, it was excellent and renovation of a structurally good building is always, always a fraction of the cost of new construction," Moylan said. "To rip down a structurally good building of that size is just a horrible… just horrible stewardship."
Moylan, whose group aims to save old buildings like the Colonial Apartments, said the city pressured the owners to level the property due to crime concerns.
"They were trying to basically make it sound like the building was a criminal," Moylan said.
Regardless of the opposition, RiverStone Health is committed to a brighter future for the site. Demolition started a little before 10 a.m. and nearly all of the building was destroyed by 4 p.m. on Monday.
Forte said it's an opportunity to move on from the past.
"I think we're taking all of that with us today," Forte said. "All of the joy and the life that was created here, but also all of the sadness, trauma and grief that was created here."
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