Preliminary work of sorts is set to begin next month at 100 N. Main St.

The team behind the plans to redevelop and rehabilitate the tallest building in Memphis has gotten approval to start clearing out the years of trash and debris that have piled up inside and begin internal demolition in February. A Downtown Memphis Commission board gave the go-ahead Wednesday for that work to begin.

The approval was required as the Downtown Mobility Authority still owns the tower. The DMA and the developers previously reached an agreement for the developers to purchase the property in two phases. The development team, 100 N. Main Development Partners, is led by Kevin Woods and includes Billy Orgel, Jay Lindy, Adam Slovis and Michael McLaughlin.

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According to a staff report, the trash removal, hazardous material abatement and select demolition work is expected to cost $7 million and take 12-14 months to complete. The cleanup and abatement work will also require establishing temporary power and fixing some elevators.

Developers plan to use that 12-14 months to also finish drawings, starting the bidding process and complete any other pre-construction tasks, so hard construction is ready to begin as soon as the cleanup work finishes. Based on current timelines, the refurbished building could open in 2025.

Corinne S Kennedy covers economic development, real estate and healthcare for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached via email at Corinne.Kennedy@CommercialAppeal.com

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: 100 N. Main: Work to begin on rehabilitating Memphis' tallest building