Traffic on Interstate 30 Sunday morning to be slowed for Westchester Plaza implosion

Westchester Plaza, the now-vacant troubled assisted-living facility for Medicaid recipients at 8th and Pennsylvania avenues, is being imploded early Sunday.

The implosion is scheduled to take place about 8 a.m., according a city news release.

Several streets around the 12-story building will be closed from 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., the city said.

Those include 8th Avenue from the westbound service road of Interstate 30 to Pruitt Street; Summit Avenue from 8th Avenue to Pennsylvania Avenue; Petersmith Street from Summit to Ballinger Street; Tucker Street from Summit to Ballinger, and, Pennsylvania Avenue from 9th Avenue to Ballinger.

Traffic on I-30 will be slowed and motorists won't be allowed to get on the interstate during the time of the implosion, the city said. The building is just south of I-30, off Summit Avenue.

In August of 2017, 117 people still living at Westchester Plaza were told to move out. Then owner WGH Heritage Inc. said it was forced to close because of changes to the Medicaid system, but the facility had gone through years of financial and regulatory problems.

The facility was licensed for 275 people and mostly served elderly and disabled individuals. It had been in business since 1998.

In April of 2017, the building was sold by Housing and Urban Development to Fort Worth-based capital investment firm E Capital Partners. In August, the city issued a permit to raze the structure to Dallas Demolition.

The building sits on prime real estate in the Medical District on the city's near southside, which has seen a huge influx of apartment development in the past few years.

The property opened in 1951 as a luxury apartment building. It was also once owned by Presbyterian Housing Inc., an entity of First Presbyterian Church of Fort Worth.

This story was originally published March 15, 2018 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Traffic on Interstate 30 Sunday morning to be slowed for Westchester Plaza implosion."