HOLLAND — Just over a month ago, Holland voters gave approval for the municipality to sell the former James DeYoung Power Plant, along with a piece of land at 255 Kollen Park Drive.

More: Holland remains divided days before transformative land swap vote

More: Holland voters say 'yes' to land sale, clearing the way for landmark development

The proposal, which garnered about 63.5 percent "yay" votes out of a required 60, cleared the way for a waterfront development planned by Geenen DeKock Properties, which has already redeveloped much of the block between River Avenue/Pine Avenue and Eighth Street/Ninth Street.

It also seemed to trigger exterior demolition of the plant, which passersby began to notice during the Tulip Time Festival, less than 10 days after the vote.

“With each day that passes, the structure ages, increasing risks,” said Dave Koster, general manager for Holland BPW. “Demolishing the building is the prudent course of action for upholding safety, sustainability and our commitment to the community to prepare the land for future use.”

According to Holland BPW, remediation of hazardous materials like asbestos and lead-based paints began in February. Demolition is part of a multi-year decommissioning process that started in 2017 when the plant closed.

JDY supplied the local community with electricity for 78 years, opening in 1939. It was replaced with Holland Energy Park as the utility provider sought to improve efficiency and reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent.

Holland BPW said current demolition work isn't tied to the vote enabling the sale of the property, but rather that none of the proposed waterfront projects involved re-use of the building.

Holland first sought proposals for Waterfront Holland in 2021, which began as a community visioning process for the future of the plant and the creation of a broader waterfront area downtown, also known popularly as the "march to the waterfront."

Of the three companies invited to submit a full proposal, only GDK followed through. The proposed mixed-use development included 108 units of housing across four buildings, a 50-room hotel, a marina with private and transient slips, a "boat-watching plaza," a restaurant and ice cream shop and a much-needed docking area for cruise ships.

A revised plan shared with Holland City Council in January included most of the same items, plus potential docking for the Holland Princess — but focused more heavily on access and traffic flow, adding a public park.

The project involves a land-swap with the current Verplank site near Boatwerks Waterfront Restaurant. Verplank will occupy the land on Pine Avenue, while GDK develops its previous plot, in addition to the former Tool Works property and two other city-owned spaces. Upon completion, the project would provide a direct connection to Holland Civic Center.

But, despite the marketing of the current plan to encourage voters to say "aye," the final scope of the project is far from decided.

“This will follow the same development process, follow all city codes, the Unified Development Ordinance, same as any other project would," Mayor Nathan Bocks, who did not respond to multiple requests for comment, told The Sentinel in early May. "There will be a lot of permitting required, both city and state. I imagine it will be months, if not years, before any shovels hit the dirt on this.

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“The public is going to have the ability to be involved in this process, provide input, at the planning commission level, the city council level. There will likely be multiple meetings at each of those levels."

The demolition of the former power plant is expected to wrap-up this fall for a cost of about $5.7 million — almost $1 million less than Holland BPW budgeted for, according to a release.

— Contact freelancer Austin Metz at ametz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Demolition is underway at the former James DeYoung Power Plant