TAMPA, Fla. -- The structure in Tampa crews had been trying to knock down for days was finally demolished on Tuesday.

  • Crews first tried to take down the building Sunday
  • Project clears land for Midtown Tampa redevelopment project
  • Construction to begin in 2019

Demolition of the five-story building was scheduled for Sunday morning and was slated to last 30 seconds. After several attempts to knock it down, the building barely budged.

For three days, crews continued working to knock it down, and finally just before 5 p.m. on Tuesday it came down exactly how they wanted it to.

"A great milestone and a great ending to the process," said Fred Hames, the executive vice president of Barr & Barr.

The building was more than 30 years old. Taking it down is clearing land for Midtown Tampa, a $500 million redevelopment project. The mixed use space will feature restaurants, shopping, hotels and residential living areas.

The strength of the building shocked even crew members who have been in the business for years.

"Never. I have never seen anything like this before. I don't even think I've heard of anything like this before," said Molly Burchette, the business development manager for Cross Environmental Services.

The leftover materials from the building will now be repurposed in the community.

"That stuff was built a long time ago and it was built to last," said Hames.

Crews considered the demolition a win even though it took longer than expected because no one was injured and nearby businesses didn't sustain any damage. 

"That's an occupied facility about 30 feet away so this is the main reason we implemented this strategy -- to keep that place in business and to keep it safe," said Hames.

"It was definitely worth it in the end to make sure everyone was safe and the building came down exactly as we wanted it to," said Burchette.

Constructing the new buildings will begin in 2019, and the entire project will be complete in 2021.