PONTIAC -- A few downtown buildings will be torn down starting Monday as the first steps toward a new Livingston County Law and Justice Center.

Buildings on the city block southeast of the Livingston County Courthouse are targeted first, including the Downtowner motel, Pontiac Granite Co. and several office spaces.

The new center is expected to be complete by fall 2011 with offices moving in January 2012.

Mike McCoy, treasurer of McCoy Construction Co., said demolition should not affect downtown parking or traffic.

"We should be able to stay on that particular lot, which is vacated anyway," he said. "There will be some parking lot access to the site where we will have a temporary fence for safety."

The construction company will move in equipment Monday with demolition scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. County Board Chairman Bill Fairfield said demolition should be complete by early November.

Demolition will be done by McCoy Construction Co., Pontiac, for $170,000. The county recently completed asbestos removal through Universal Asbestos Removal, Lemont, for $57,000.

Construction of the new facility is estimated between $17 million to $19 million, Fairfield said. Money will be from revenue through a host agreement with Allied Waste for the Livingston Landfill.

The current courthouse is outdated for storage and security.

"It's very crowded and there are situations where (Illinois Department of Corrections) inmates have to walk by women and children in the hallways," Fairfield said. "With the new building ... the inmates will not have any contact like that."