Demolition of Village buildings begins

Construction crews today began demolishing a block of buildings near Ball State University to make way for new development.

A brick wall crumbles easily with a little help from a bulldozer.  And a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows comes down in seconds.

The buildings along one side of University Avenue between Martin and Dill Streets are being torn down to make way for apartments, new retail space, and a parking garage.

Across the street from the construction site is The Cup, a Village coffee shop with a large outdoor seating area.  Barista Rebecca Pee says the noise and mess probably won’t hurt business.

Pee is a Muncie native and as a child her family used to come to the Village, especially the former MT Cup coffee shop.

Traffic on University Avenue through the Village is restricted to one lane while construction crews are actively demolishing the buildings.