HOLLAND, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Aug. 10, 2023) – Holland Mayor Nathan Bocks said it best on Tuesday when he posted on his social media sites that on “Thursday morning, our skyline will be changed forever.”
Around 9 AM, Holland Public Safety Police Services blocked off Pine Avenue for about 60 minutes as the James DeYoung power plant, which supplied electricity to the Holland area for 78 years before it was decommissioned for the Holland Energy Park in 2017, was imploded. The controlled operation was produced through a rapid series of detonations aimed at collapsing the structure, including its two tall stacks that funneled exhaust from its coal-fired furnaces. There was a loud sound as the implosion commences, with some dusting forming afterward that utility officials correctly predicted that only lasted for a few minutes.
The public did stay away from the area during this time, and no drones were allowed over the scene. Kollen Park or Dunton Park were recommended sites for viewing the activities live, with Deputy City Manager Matt Van Dyken and the city’s video team recording the events as it happened.
The site is being cleared as part of the Waterfront Holland development initiative in which GDK will move the Verplank Dock operations to the Pine Avenue location, while the current dock site off of West 8th Street will become a mixed-use development that would be designed to improve public access to Lake Macatawa’s southern shore
