IN JUST six weeks' time a big gap will appear in Redhill's streetscape, when Lombard House is finally flattened.
Sainsbury's major development, bringing a new store, hotel, gym and improved entrance to the Harlequin is "on track" with construction work to begin in the spring.
But before that, the old offices on the corner of London Road and Princess Way must be razed to the ground.
Because of its town centre location, construction manager John Johnston told the Mirror the job was "not a dynamite site", but required patience.
He said: "The site does have its constraints. We've got a dual carriageway on one side, businesses on the other, and local residents, all in such close proximity to us.
"We've got six weeks to go and I think we've done a good job so far."
The "soft" demolition began in October when machines began "munching away" at the building.
Now, more than half way through the task, only the ragged shell of Lombard House remains.
The Mirror visited the site on Friday where a 50-strong team were working to a tight deadline to bring the building down.
Mr Johnston said: "It's an average run. We'll start reducing [workers] over the next couple of weeks, as it becomes more plan-orientated rather than labour intensive."
Noise, dust and vibrations are being kept in check, said Mr Johnston, to keep neighbouring residents and businesses disruption-free, adding that feedback so far had been positive.
The demolished materials are not going to waste either. They are being collected from the site, recycled and will be used in the reconstruction.
"The recycling on this job is up to 98 per cent," Mr Johnston said. "Most of the concrete gets crushed and gets used again. The carpet tiles get reused – it's such a strong material, they clean them up and reuse them. Bricks come back as hardcore – there's very little waste."
A Sainsbury's spokesman said a contractor for the construction phase is yet to be appointed, but building work is planned to get under way in spring with a final completion date of summer 2016.
He added: "There will be a period when there won't be too much happening on site. There will be a big gap in the streetscape of the town, but not for long.
"Ultimately the end product is going to be fantastic."
