NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WPRI) — An abandoned mill building in New Bedford will soon be no more.

A Superior Court judge granted the city’s demolition request for the building located at 1 Rear Coffin Ave.

City officials said inspectors deemed the building “unused, uninhabited, and/or abandoned, and constitutes a danger to life or limb.” They also said the demolition will make room for a new riverwalk.

“It has been open to the elements, a fire hazard, and a danger to the adjoining residential complex for far too long due to the owner’s failure to maintain its property,” City Solicitor Eric Jaikes said.

The city said the building’s owner, Beit Medrash, acquired the property as a donation in 2015, but was financially unable to fulfill orders to make it safer. That led officials to eventually file a lawsuit against him in tandem with last week’s ruling.

“I am very happy by the Superior Court’s decision,” Ward 2 City Councilor Maria Giesta said. “Both the neighborhood and I have been very concerned with this dilapidated building, which has been not only a blight in the community, but a possible danger to the residents.”