JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — One of the biggest eyesores on Jacksonville's skyline is about to come down. On Sunday at 10 a.m., Berkman 2 will be imploded.
You might be wondering, how will that affect residents who live one building west on Bay Street in Berkman Plaza?
The short answer is that the windows of resident condos at Berkman Plaza are going to get very dusty on Sunday, but outside of that they should be completely safe.
Berkman Plaza stands less than 150 feet from a structure that will be imploded on Sunday. Structural engineer Ron Woods has extensive knowledge of the Berkman Plaza building and believes it is structurally sound and completely safe.
"I'm not concerned about the structure on Plaza condominium," said Woods, "they'll get some dust and they'll be a lot of noise and some vibration, but with regards to the structure itself, I'm not concerned."
The demolition crew already has cargo canisters in place to protect the bottom 3 floors of Berkman Plaza from potential debris.
A mound of rubble closer to the blast site should also act as a shield and prevent debris from flying at Berkman Plaza, but the Plaza will feel some vibration.
"The vibration and the blast wave that will come from the implosion," said Woods, "those will be an instantaneous pressure against the building, kind of like a gust of wind, so it shouldn't affect anything."
But what about affects to nearby buildings, like the Maxwell House factory?
Woods says that those buildings shouldn't be affected at all.
"We're on relatively sandy soil, very sandy soil in fact," said Woods, "the vibrations slow down as you go further away from the source of the vibration. The vibration from the crumbling of the building is probably not going to be that significant."
Even though Woods believes Berkman Plaza will be completely safe from a structural perspective during the implosion, another structural engineer will examine the building after the implosion and a separate firm will monitor vibrations.