Solo Cup coming down

The Solo Cup building’s namesake is coming down.

Crews are working to demolish the large cup on the front of the 1100 N. Glenstone Ave. building that traces its roots back to the 1950s. Patrick Harrington of Davis Properties said demolition likely will be completed by the end of next week.

Davis Properties continues to renovate the 1.35-million-square-foot complex that previously housed Solo Cup Co. and Lily-Tulip Corp. plants.  

“We wanted to redo the facade to look more like the additions we’ve put on there for the new docks,” Harrington said of the mostly warehouse space.

Directly behind the cup sits two floors of office space at 10,000 square feet apiece and a basement, also 10,000 square feet. Crews cut a hole in the cup to drain out the interior demolition, Harrington said, noting the cup itself would come down after that process is complete.

Harrington said Davis Properties will market the 30,000 square feet as office space. The hulking facility also has 340,000 square feet of vacant warehouse space remaining, he said.

Davis Properties bought the plant as Solo was winding down operations in August 2010, and has signed tenants Buckhorn Inc., Reckitt Benckiser and NewStream Enterprises, a division of SRC Holdings Corp. The company is also building two 125,000-square-foot buildings behind the former plant, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.