West 8th Street in Millcreek will have a different look as properties there will soon be coming down.

The demolitions are a key step of the township’s “Presque Isle Gateway Project.”

Millcreek Township General Authority held a special meeting Friday to award bids for demolition of Joe Roots Grill, Manor Motel, Sandbar and the back side of the Bel-Air Hotel.

The township opened bids on Oct., 18 to begin the process of finding a company that will assist in the next phase of their “Gateway Project.”

Supervisors have an approximate five-year plan to revitalize the corridor.

In all, 11 firms showed interest. Of the 11, the general authority received five for consideration.

According to the executive director of the Millcreek Township General Authority, the two lowest bidders were then put through an evaluation to ensure the contractor followed instructions and met requirements.

“This is going to be the first big visible step. Actually clearing those sites and getting them ready, we can consolidate them and market them to a developer,” said Matthew Waldinger, executive director of the Millcreek Township General Authority.

Empire Excavation & Demolition was the lowest bidder at $242,000, and was awarded the contract.

“That would be all of the buildings down. Most of the foundation removed up to a depth of 42 inches, clean fill, it would be seeded and topsoil would be brought in. And that would include all of the parking lots of those properties as well,” Waldinger said.

“We already have some grant funding waiting for us from our RCAP that requires a match. We have grant funding from the Land Bank in order to do this demolition, and that money from the Land Bank actually comes from ECGRA, the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority,” said Kim Clear, Millcreek Township supervisor.

Contractors are set to begin the demolition process at the beginning of December, which will last until May.

“This is going to be a long process. We knew this would not be going on overnight,” Clear said. “It’s going to be able to make Millcreek’s future that much brighter. We are going to be having that much more that we can give to our residents because of this investment.”