We have some great video, of major demolition Friday in downtown Erie.

It's making way for a multi-million-dollar project, at UPMC Hamot.

This is the largest construction project in the history of UPMC Hamot, and Friday’s demo marked a major step in moving it forward.

Demolition crews tore down what was left of the old Professional Building, just east of the emergency department on east second street in Erie.

This is the first phase of the $111 Million dollar project.

Crews will spend the next couple months cleaning up the debris from Friday's demolition, then contractors will begin working on the foundation of the seven-story patient tower.

Construction is slated to begin in the fall on the new building that will house state-of-the art intensive care units.

UPMC Hamot President, David Gibbons says this is an exciting time for the hospital system, “Today we saw the tumbling of the Professional Building which is a very exciting day at UPMC Hamot because it paves the way for the construction of our new patient tower, it will be a seven-story patient tower with state of the art ICU's,” said Gibbons. “A lot of prep and time has gone into the demolition of this building, it's been months and months and months of work, engineering studies, safety checks, etc, and a successful demolition and we're looking forward to the next chapter,” Gibbons continued.

The patient tower will include those state-of-the-art intensive care rooms as well as additional space for the imaging and the emergency department.

It's expected to open in December of 2020.