Over a week after private owners failed to meet a deadline to begin demolition at 263 Washington St., the city of Binghamton began to take down the building on Thursday.

After a conversation with the foreclosing bank earlier last week, Vestal-based LCP Group began demolishing the building around 11 a.m. on April 23. The demolition will cost about $100,000 and will be charged to the property owners.

Both private property owners, Philip Costa and Kevin Findley, were found guilty in the Binghamton City Court on 50 code violations. Costa’s sentencing was set for January of this year, but has been delayed. Findley, who has a warrant out for his arrest, has yet to turn himself in as of publication.

According to Mayor Jared Kraham, factors involved in the decision to demolish the building include increased public support for the project and a recent fire marshal report highlighting the danger the building posed to first responders in the event of an emergency on the property.

“If there were to be a fire that happened in this building, this would be incredibly dangerous for first responders,” Kraham reported during a press conference at the demolition site. “The fact that it’s open to the elements makes it very dangerous from a fire safety standpoint.”

Last February, Binghamton firefighter John “JR” Gaudet was killed in a three-alarm fire in an abandoned building on Main Street. Two other firefighters were injured in the same incident and were released from the hospital the morning after the fire.

Formerly known as the Kenmore, the four-story building was constructed in the late 1880s and purchased in 2009 by Philmar Holdings LLC of New Paltz.

The LLC planned to turn the blighted building into 26 studio apartments with a $500,000 grant from the state. However, plans to renovate the building fell through, leaving the building vacant for several years. After a stalled final attempt to bring the building up to code over a year ago, Kraham announced plans to demolish the building.

The demolition of 263 Washington St. is one of many actions the city has taken to take down blighted buildings. In March, Kraham called for the Masonic Temple on Main Street to be torn down, several years after the property was surrendered to the city.

“This isn’t something that should have had to happen,” said Kraham. “The city was going to take bold action and not let the status quo continue to be the case.”