WESTBROOK – After nearly 20 years of dormancy, Westbrook’s once-thriving Maine Rubber factory is rubble.

“It’s long overdue. It’s an eyesore. It’s time to move on and get something more attractive and economically good for the city, hopefully something that will create new jobs,” said City Councilor Mike Sanphy on Wednesday, on the scene to photograph the demolition.

The future of 942 Main St., commonly referred to as the Maine Rubber building, has been in question since 1999, but after years of back and forth and a few added incentives, the building will be nothing but a memory by the end of the week.

Because of its location, Westbrook police have closed down the portion of Saco Street in between William Clarke Drive and Main Street until Wednesday, Aug. 21. The sidewalk next to the old building will also be closed to avoid injury from falling debris.

Brian Leavitt, owner of Leavitt Earthworks in Standish, the crew handling the building demolition, said his crew is working to keep pedestrians and vehicles safe as they pass by the construction zone.

“We’ve taken every precaution that we can as far as keeping the area fenced off and closing Saco Street. We have two spotters watching for people and traffic,” he said.

Sanphy said the building, which was once an old barn, lost its historical significance since Maine Rubber stopped producing tires at the Westbrook facility.

Since production stopped, the Elowitch family, which owns the property, has been renting out space to one tenant to help pay the bills, but that tenant relocated to 640 Saco St. after it was announced the building would be razed.

“To be honest, I’m ambivalent about the building itself, but we don’t have any prospects and that’s a little bit of a concern. The city asked us to work with them and we were happy to do so,” Dave Elowitch said on Tuesday. “It’s been a very long process. I think we worked nicely together with the city and I’m hoping it pays off for both of us.”

But Bill Baker, Westbrook’s assistant city administrator for business and community relations, is optimistic.

“Given the prominent location of that lot, we’re really excited about the demolition. It will make the development potential obvious to people who will bring a great mixed-use development to the area. We hope that it has a domino effect moving eastbound on Main Street,” he said.

Mark Malone, of Malone Commercial Brokers, is handling the sale or development of the nearly three-quarter-acre lot. Malone said the sale price was $1.1 million for the land or $66,000 a year for a ground lease. He said the Elowitches are also willing to build on the lot for a company and sell the entire redeveloped parcel.

Malone said he considered the lot to be one of the best commercial-retail sites in southern Maine.

“My phone’s been ringing off the hook about that property since they started tearing it down,” Malone said on Wednesday.

Starting in 1998, both the Elowitch family and the city have been trying to make the property more viable. At one point, the Elowitches requested a zoning change to allow for a drive-through facility, but the city denied the request. Dave Elowitch was hoping to put a drive-through bank at the location.

At another point, Westbrook Housing was a partner in a project, but that deal fell through, as well.

In 2011, the city, on behalf of the Elowitch family, received a $125,000 grant to cover the cost of demolishing the building. But the project stalled once again.

Eventually, the city and the family were able to strike a deal: the city passed a zoning change that allowed for a drive-through and agreed to give up a portion of Saco Street between William Clarke Drive and Main Street in exchange for tearing down the building and a strip of land along William Clarke Drive between Mechanic and Saco streets.

With no prospective buyers for land and no plans for the future, the site will sit empty. Leavitt said, pending any surprises like finding environmental issues in the land underneath the building, construction crews will create a lawn area on the site.

Leavitt said the construction work and clean up should be completed in the next month.

On Wednesday morning, workers and heavy equipment begin the long-awaited and oft-delayed demolition of the former Maine Rubber plant at the intersection of Main Street and William Clarke Drive in Westbrook.The demolition of the old Maine Rubber complex in Westbrook begins.Demolition and the subsequent cleanup of the Maine Rubber site is expected to be completed in the next month. Work razing the building began Wednesday.The demolition of the old Maine Rubber complex in Westbrook begins.