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The closing on the Macy's property finished last Wednesday. Rodney Loftis & Sons has been tasked with the demolition.

"We're going to start the demolition this week," Kanawha County Commissioner Ben Salango said. "We got everything recorded so we're starting the demo [process]. On Thursday, part of the building will be demolished when we have our press conference. This is a big deal for the city of ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä, Kanawha County and state of West Virginia.

Salango said the future timetable has been mapped out. It is simply a matter of executing it.

"The demolition is going to take about six to eight weeks," Salango said. "Then, we've got to finalize the architectural drawings, which will take eight to 12 months. The actual construction will take about two years. We're about three years out [right now], but you have to start somewhere. This is where we're starting."

Continued revitalization of the downtown

ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin has been one of the many voices making sure the project keeps moving forward.

Goodwin — with the start of demolition Thursday — knows that this week is another step toward making the area around the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Coliseum & Convention Center more appealing.

"What's so exciting about this part of town is, you're seeing a total revitalization," Goodwin said. "This has become — in this section of town — kind of the sports and entertainment hub for the past two weekends. If you were in the city of ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä the last two weekends, it would have been hard to find a space to get something to eat or get a drink at a bar.

"It was packed, not just because of the great concerts that we're having at the Coliseum. We had 120 teams and 2,000 volleyball athletes in town. That is a very tiny slice of what you'll see when we have the Capital Sports Complex developed."

Remembering Macy's

The Macy's portion of the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Town Center mall, along with other existing or abandoned areas, has provided memories that span a lifetime.

Goodwin has emotional ties to the Macy's building, which were brought back to her as she toured the interior of the store with other city and county officials Monday.

"This is actually the area where I registered for my china years ago," Goodwin said as she toured the lower level of the Macy's where menswear and housewares once were sold. The department store opened in 1986 as a Kaufmann's.

"There's a lot of memories and history here," Goodwin said. "What we're looking towards is the future. What can this be? This is going to bring future growth and future development. It's always hard to see history and this building come down. What is going to go in the place of this is the economy of tomorrow."

$80 million price tag?

The estimated and original price tag is $80 million for the 254,000-square-foot Capital Sports Center. The city put $5 million into the project in October with the County Commission matching it.

Another $2 million was contributed by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. All in all, $12 million (15%) has been raised for the project.

More funding requests are in the works, and loans will be part of the plan.

"We've put in additional direct funding spending requests and hope to hear back on those very soon," Salango said. "We've been in contact with our U.S. senators. Hopefully, we'll be able to receive some state funding, but, otherwise, it'll be bonded. What that will do is, we will make dedicated funding payments to the bonds to pay the rest off.

"So, the amount of the bond will depend on how much federal and state dollars we receive."

Salango thinks that final price tag could change.

"We've had a lot of federal and state money that's come into the state and throughout the United States," he said. "That's increased the square-footage projections. We're still calculating those. By the time construction actually starts in a year and a half or so, we'll have to look and see what the square-footage rate is at that time."