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Butt Ugly Building Coming Down, Capitol West Is Next In Line

Demolition of the Butt Ugly Building Starts Wednesday

Jeff Cohen

October 26, 2010

The city of Hartford plans to begin its demolition of one of it's iconic eyesores tomorrow. WNPR's Jeff Cohen reports.

City officials long ago gave the former HB Davis Building a less favorable name -- the Butt Ugly building. And this nickname for the structure at the heart of downtown stuck once it became wrapped up in the investigation of former Mayor Eddie Perez.

But new Mayor Pedro Segarra made demolition of this falling-down, boarded-up building a priority when he came to office this summer. Since then, the city has moved to buy the building and flatten it.

Segarra says the building just across I-84 from the XL Center will be completely torn down by mid-November.

Meanwhile, Segarra's staff is working on another eyesore off I-84. This one is called the Capitol West building, a shell of a structure that has blighted commutes for years.

The city is negotiating to buy the Myrtle Street building from its owners. That negotiation period could last through December. If negotiations fail, the city could move to take the building.