SALISBURY, Md. - It was about 12 years ago when the old mall in Salisbury on Civic Avenue was torn down and since then, the pile of rubble has sat behind the Twilley Center. But the rubble will soon be gone paving the way for new development on that land.
Crews from Stonetech LLC started ramping up efforts this week to remove the rubble. The materials were sold to the company and that rubble will be recycled into usable construction materials. And the rubble from the old mall is not the only thing that was recently sold.
"The property was just placed under contract," Salisbury Mayor Jake Day told WBOC. "So, the property is in the process of being sold. So, we are all very excited about that and hopefully what that means is that the next process is we will begin to see drawings start to take shape and renderings and plans for what will happen on that property."
The property sits across the from the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center and is more than 80 acres, taking up several city blocks. Mayor Day said whatever will be built on the land will have to be done in phases because of the sheer size of the property. Day also said he expects a mix of development on the land from housing to commercial properties like offices, retail, and restaurants. And even hopes from some community and cultural assets.
Whatever is eventually built on this land, the mayor believes it is a huge step in the right direction for the city.
"There's just so much development in the city of Salisbury and such a bullish market to make things happen. There's so much growth that this says to me, now we are ready to start tackling some of the deeper entrenched, more challenging, larger in scale problems. And that's what these folks and doing and I cheer them on from my vantage point," Day said.
Day also said that the complete removal of the rubble pile will probably take a couple of weeks to complete in Salisbury.