It's official. The Pioneer Hotel will be torn down next week.

Demolition on three dilapidated buildings downtown started Monday with the tearing down of the old Smokehouse restaurant and another structure and work will continue this week.

Demolition crews from Hazard Excavation Inc. took advantage of good weather to level one of the buildings and began hauling away rubble.

The second structure is scheduled to be torn down this week and hauled away.

Logan Mayor Claude Ellis met with Jim Boggs of the Region II Planning and Development Authority yesterday to sign the last official documents for the long term project, which were approved last night by the Logan City Council.

Logan Police Chief Dave White told council members that a section of Cole Street will be closed off to prepare for the demolition, and that the Pioneer itself is slated to be knocked down next week.

"We will close a portion of Main Street and Stratton Street," White added. "We are going well over a year on this project at this point."

White said the city will work with residents and businesses to make sure the project is completed with a minimum amount of interference to residents.

City Attorney Kendall Partlow said the final paperwork had been brought in by Jim Boggs to be signed earlier in the day and the measure needed the approval of the council. The paperwork assigned payment to Hazard Excavation Inc. from First Community Bank, and included a preconstruction conference report.