Details on the implosion of Downtown Midland building

MIDLAND, Texas (KOSA) - The Western United Life Building, in Downtown Midland is scheduled to be demolished on Saturday.

The 12-story building, which was built in the 1940s has been empty since the 1990s. The building was purchased by the Midland Development Corporation in 2018 and will be the fourth downtown building in Midland’s history to be demolished.

The pile of debris on the site will be about 18′ above the sidewalk and it is expected to take 6-7 weeks to clear the debris and prepare for new development.

The city says, although every effort is being made to ensure safety and security, members of the public should assess their own risk tolerance before heading downtown.

The city released the following information for those who plan on viewing in person:

The implosion will take place between 8:20 a.m. and 8:35 a.m.
Beginning Saturday at 5:00 a.m., streets will be closed off, and traffic barriers will be set up around the exclusion zone. Please see the attached map.
The immediate area will be barricaded and strictly enforced, including the inside of buildings in the exclusion zone. The barricaded area will be north of W. Wall St. and south of W. Ohio Ave. between N. Marienfeld St. and N. Loriane St., including all of Centennial Park. You can view the exclusion zone below:

If you wish to view the implosion, residents will be allowed to observe from the south sidewalk of W. Wall St., the west sidewalk of N. Marienfeld St. north sidewalk of W. Ohio Ave., or the east sidewalk area of N. Loraine St.
Parking will be limited to the areas outside the barricade plan.
Restroom facilities will be limited to surrounding businesses’ discretion.
Spectators are strongly encouraged to bring protective eyewear and a dust filter mask. The dust cloud following the implosion can come quickly, and its direction will depend on the weather conditions.
Drone use by the public is prohibited
The implosion will be streamed on City of Midland’s Facebook page facebook.com/CityofMidlandTX