The contractor retrieving bricks from fallen buildings in downtown Pine Bluff should have no problem meeting the Dec. 31 deadline the City Council has imposed after delays and setbacks that have kept a portion of Main Street closed, a business associate said.
Danny Bradshaw, owner of Mr. Brick Antique Brick Buy and Sell, has worked for more than a year to clear properties along Main Street that he purchased after buildings fell down. Until a few days ago, debris in the street between Fourth and Fifth avenues had made the stretch of the road impassable.
The Pine Bluff City Council voted 7-0 on Monday night to impose the midnight Dec. 31 deadline. They voted down a similar proposal in April that would have set a June 30 deadline.
Alderman Steven Mays, who sponsored both versions of the ordinance, said people have grown frustrated with the delays and that city officials are trying to revitalize the struggling downtown.
"It should have been cleared," Mays said. "You can't just hold things up."
The City Council in a separate ordinance set a 90-day limit for future demolition projects along Main Street.
Dee Herring-Gatlin, the real estate agent who helped Bradshaw obtain the properties, said the street has been cleared of debris and is reopened. Work to clear the properties is ongoing, she said.
"He knew it was coming," said Herring-Gatlin, who speaks to the news media on Bradshaw's behalf. "I think that it's something he planned on doing anyway, having it cleaned up."
State Desk on 10/19/2016