Rock Island to move forward to demolish Klass buildings

Rock Island is moving forward to demolish two rundown buildings downtown.

The city council approved a contract for H. Coopman Trucking & Excavating to tear down the Klass buildings, abandoned buildings on 19th St. and 1st Ave. The $198,000 contract is more than the city initially expected to spend; city leaders originally projected it to run from $150,00 to $175,000. Money for the demolition is coming from a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district. The city says bids came in higher than expected because the contractors have to deal with asbestos in the building.

Coopman proposed demolishing around asbestos coolers and then removing the coolers as a whole to significantly lower the cost.