BLOOMINGTON - After years of starts and stops, the demolition of the Coachman Motel has started. And like the years-long struggle, demolition also will be a long process.

"We can't just come in and wham it over," said Tom Kirk from Kirk C&D Recycling, the contractor hired by the city of Bloomington to bring the building down.

Kirk said the building at 408 E. Washington St. will be brought down in two phases and it could take at least two months to complete.

The first phase will bring down the exterior walls and much of the interior junk - the couches, beds and other furnishings left behind. The first phase will take three to four weeks, Kirk estimated.

Once the first phase is complete, only a skeleton made up of the main concrete-block wall that runs length-wise through the entire building and several concrete-block supporting walls will remain.

Those walls contain asbestos and once they start on those walls, demolition will slow down.

"People driving by will notice when we switch to the second phase because we will all be suited up," Kirk said.

Rules regarding the removal of asbestos will keep workers from the site on days where the wind speeds are 15 mph or higher. Other regulations Kirk will be required to follow include the disposal and transportation of the contaminated concrete blocks to the landfill.

The city has struggled for years with the owners of the building to improve the property that once was an upscale motel and restaurant for Bloomington. Built in 1961, the motel was host to rock star Elton John and former First Lady Nancy Reagan when she was still known as actress Nancy Davis.