Complications have delayed demolition of Georgia State University’s Kell Hall

A parking deck-turned-classroom building at Georgia State University’s downtown campus is slated to meet the wrecking ball and make way for new green space.

When exactly that might happen, though, isn’t entirely clear.

The 1920s structure, now called Kell Hall, has been on the chopping block for years, and in May, GSU officials told Curbed Atlanta it would be felled in June.

However, says GSU spokeswoman Andrea Jones, “It’s been more complicated getting the roofing material out of the building than expected,” so Kell Hall is expected to remain standing for “another month or so.”

Construction crews have been clearing out the building’s interior, and earlier this week, they began tearing the historic facade from the side of the building facing Peachtree Center Avenue.

That means the block—or at least part of it—between Decatur and Gilmer streets will remain closed to automobile traffic for the foreseeable future.

Restricted access hasn’t stopped students on the sidewalk from gawking at the backhoes tearing apart their old stomping grounds.

From now until July 14, the two lanes abutting Kell Hall and the classroom buildings sandwiching it will be cordoned off.

From then until August 11, the whole block will be shut down. Partial and full street closures are expected intermittently through December.

Kell Hall’s demolition comes in tandem with the destruction of the adjacent Library Plaza, which is also being removed to make way for the incoming green space.

The school’s longterm vision calls for a much greener and pedestrian-friendly campus that could help change the feel of eastern and central downtown.