Dallas

Fort Worth Buildings Imploded Friday

Crews to clear area for future American Airlines headquarters

Crews imploded a cluster of buildings in Fort Worth Friday afternoon to make way for the new American Airlines headquarters. [[380237431, C]]

The old AMR/Sabre buildings near the intersection of Texas 360 and Trinity Boulevard โ€” vacant since 2009 โ€” imploded at 1 p.m.

People near the site heard the implosion for about 20 seconds.

When the dust settled it a corner of the complex of buildings appeared unfazed by the explosive charges.

The implosion happened precisely as planned. "Several areas of the structure remained intact to ensure the integrity of the trees and surrounding landscape," said Matt Miller with American Airlines. "These structures will be removed by conventional demolition methods. The debris removal process will begin in earnest next week."

Dallas Demolition's Cole Lohden and his crew prepared for the event for more than six months, including about three months at the building site. He said they've worked with the City of Fort Worth and the Texas Department of Transportation to minimize the impact on the area.

"The site is very isolated. It's lower than the surrounding landscape and it's got a lot of tree coverage," he said. "We expect a very minimal impact."

A statement from American Airlines CEO Doug Parker was read prior to the implosion:

"I'm sorry I can't be there today, unfortunately I had to make an unplanned trip to Chicago to work on something very important to American โ€“ reducing TSA wait times. 

The implosion of the old headquarters is bittersweet for me. I began my airline career in that building 30 years ago this month. I have wonderful memories of the work we did there and the great people I was fortunate to work with. But sometimes, in order to move forward, you have to blow up the past and that's what we are doing today.

Removing this building will free up space for the headquarters of the new American Airlines โ€“ a collaborative and open environment where bright and energetic people will work together to ensure we restore American to the greatest airline in the world.

There are great memories in the old headquarters, but there is an amazing future ahead in the new one.  We are excited to move forward."

American Airlines said it is hard at work designing the new campus in Fort Worth.

A demolition crew official talks about Friday’s scheduled implosion of a group of Fort Worth buildings to clear room for the future American Airlines headquarters.
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