The Realty Building in downtown Youngstown is one step closer to being demolished as of Friday afternoon.

Contractor Gary Moderelli tells 21 News the demolition of the building is expected to begin Thursday, July 11 with contractors submitting everything they could to get the process started.

We're told demolition will be done from top to bottom.

The next step is to wait for a letter from the City of Youngstown declaring this an emergency demolition so contractors can get a permit from the EPA to demolish the building.

Contractors are waiting on various other permits as well. Building inspectors tell 21 News they're also waiting on certain information from the city but did not specify what this information was.

Moderelli went on to say five engineers are working Friday to see how they can support the building with the demolition and are working on a safety plan.

Once the process begins, it should take about two to three weeks until the area is safe enough to reopen. Moderelli says this does not mean that the building will be completely torn down, but it will still be safe enough for buildings to start reopening.