WALTHAM, MA — At one point a company planned to clean up and preserve the vacant 19th-century former watch face factory building at 74 Rumford avenue and turn it into a condominium building. That fell through. But the building has fallen into such disrepair and the city became concerned it could fall down and potentially hurt someone. So now, it's coming down on purpose.

The spot was once home to the O'Hara Waltham Dial Co., which decorated glow-in-the dark watch faces for everything from dials to scuba gear and industrial use and sent them worldwide more than a century ago. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, when luggage and canvas company Pantos Canvas Corp. occupied it. It has also sat empty for decades.

When the plan to build the condos fell through in 2007, it sat empty for more than a decade again, growing weeds and deteriorating. Residents asked their city councilors to do something about the property, which, by this winter included multiple broken windows and a partially collapsed roof.

Now, it's set for demolition - as soon as the radium, asbestos and lead is removed. Councilors in the ward had tried asking the property owner to fix it up, but it wasn't until March, when Cathyann Harris got a call from the property owner of building across the street from 74 Rumford who told her he thought the roof at 74 Rumford had collapsed.

She went to check it out, and sure enough, the roof had opened up in some places and the tower appeared to be leaning precariously. She snapped some photos, met with the Waltham Building Department, came up with a plan and met with the mayor. On April 4, the city sent a notice of "Unsafe Structures" to the property owner. This required the owner to have a demo plan in 90 days from the date of issue.

City councilor Harris held meetings with neighbors in April and May to keep them informed and let them know what the process would look like, she said.

In July, remediation for the hazardous materials left over from construction and from the factory began. Crews collected two trash bags of radium dust and paint chips on day one, according to Harris.

Abatement continued through the end of July overseen by the Department of Environmental Protection. The owner has had to bring in Asbestos specialists. The building itself is scheduled to come down during the second or third week of this month, she said. Crews will soak the building, and monitor air pollution. Officials do not expect large noises, even with the demolition. If you watched the old Young Building come down earlier this year, it should be similar to that, said Harris.