A group of city councilors, county board members and Chamber of Commerce and Destination: Albert Lea leaders took a tour of the Farmland demolition site Thursday morning, braving the cold to survey the site.

The tour was initiated by some who are concerned about the run-off and drainage into the lakes.

Rogers, Minn.-based Veit Companies, which is performing the demolition, had the site superintendent, Dan Mavencamp, take the group on the tour to show the fabric which has been placed on the drainage areas and explain where the company is in the demolition process.

&uot;So far the project has been on schedule,&uot; he explained to the crowd.

Mavencamp estimates that the demolition is probably 25 percent done, and the asbestos abatement is about 75 percent done. He said the project will likely be finished in late spring or early summer.

Don Ruotsinoja, the project manager of the demolition of Farmland, estimated in November that the project would be done in May.

City Manager Paul Sparks said the project is &uot;well within the budget so far.&uot;

The demolition is being funded by insurance money from Farmland insurance companies distributed to the city. In total, Farmland will give the city up to $3 million. The estimate given by Veit for the project was $2.4 million.

Mavencamp said the project has gone along smoothly, thanks in part to the area’s lack of snow.

The progress is obvious from the road. Large cranes smash the walls daily and piles of rubble are growing like small mountains. The concrete will be crushed into class-7 fill, which the city will be able to use for projects in the future. The metals collected are the property of Veit and will be sold for recycling, according to Mavencamp.

Around 20 workers are on the site each day, most of whom are living in local hotels during the week.

At the end of the project, the 33-acre lot may give the city a whole new look, opening a view from downtown all the way to Albert Lea Lake.

&uot;It will just look like a vacant lot at the end of the project,&uot; Mavencamp said.