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DES MOINES, Iowa — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has started demolition of the former Dico Superfund site in downtown Des Moines, more than 25 years after it was abandoned.

The EPA started removing three contaminated buildings from the 43-acre property on Monday. Work was done in June to remove and dispose of asbestos and hazardous substances from the buildings prior to their demolition.

The EPA says the demolition is a part of an $11.5 million settlement with Dico Inc. and the Titan Tire Company, which transferred the property to the City of Des Moines.

Nearly $3 million of the $11.5 million settlement will fund the EPA’s demolition of the contaminated buildings and update the site’s 35-year-old groundwater treatment system. The remaining funds will replace the EPA’s past cleanup costs at the site. 

“We anticipate our job to be done here by the end of August, and that’s taking down some buildings and the removal of that debris to an authorized landfill,” said Ben Washburn, the EPA spokesperson for Region 7. “EPA is going to take down three buildings, and then the city of Des Moines will take down two additional buildings.”

The Krause Group, which owns Kum & Go, plans to build a professional soccer stadium on the property. The stadium would be the home for a professional soccer team competing in the USL Championship.