Demolition continues in downtown St. Joe, and so does the waiting.

Three historic buildings in the downtown area are being demolished at the same time, even as construction continues on at least two buildings elsewhere downtown.

The owners of Home Style Furniture says they are still waiting for the crew next door to remove debris along their adjacent wall. Only then can Home Style’s structural engineer make a final determination about whether the business can remain at its current location at 302 S. 3rd. Fire destroyed the vacant Mitchell Seed Company building next door on the night of October 21.

Owners Deana and Bob Hand were forced to sell all of their inventory at Home Style to a salvage company. They’ve been searching for another building in the area in the event that their current building cannot be used.

Around the corner at 4th and Angelique, the same demolition company continued its work tearing down the Carpet Mill building, which was damaged by a storm in July. City officials say the owner of the building had not responded to notices that ordered a demolition, so the city hired the company to do it.

Demolition continued on the Pioneer Building at 5th and Francis Streets. A crew using heavy equipment resumed their efforts to push down the west wall of the building along Francis Street Tuesday. Earlier, most of the south wall was pushed down. Once an engineer determines it is safe to do so, fire inspectors will pick through the rubble in an effort to determine what caused the fire November 21.

Under the current emergency order by the city, the demolition crew has until Dec. 23 to render the structure safe for entry.