The former Remington Arms factory in Bridgeport, which has sat vacant for decades and which the city recently began demolishing. Photo courtesy of Google Maps.

The city of Bridgeport is starting to knock down nearly all of the long-abandoned buildings at the former Remington Arms factory in the city’s East Side neighborhood in an effort to attract more development.

The city has budgeted $5 million for the operation, the Connecticut Post reports.

The buildings have been a constant thorn in the city’s side as both symbols of blight visible to commuters on Interstate 95 and Metro-North trains and as the site of accidental fires kindled by trespassers. With the buildings beyond repair, city officials fear they have become an impediment to attracting new development to replace them.

Only one of the 20 buildings on-site will be saved: the property’s iconic Shot Tower, where bullets were once made.

New York-based Time Equities has recently started buying up industrial and multifamily property in the Bridgeport are, including spending $8 million on a former Frontier Communications facility in nearby Stratford, $13.85 million for the 575,000-square-foot Bridgeport Trade and Technology Center next to the Remington site and $7.9 million for the Bridgeport Innovation Center.