Those who live and work in the vicinity of the former Princeton Hospital site are growing used to the sounds of crushing concrete and rumbling trucks as workers prepare the empty buildings for demolition. This week, municipal officials said that the actual razing could begin Friday, September 19, if the weather cooperates.

Princeton’s municipal engineer Bob Kiser said Monday that he and other staff members met that day with representatives of AvalonBay, the developer that will turn the site into a complex of 280 rental units. They will convene again on Friday to confirm that day as the start of demolition.

Ron Ladell, AvalonBay senior vice president, said the company expects demolition to begin “within the next week. As of today,” he said Tuesday, “I can’t be sure it will actually begin on Friday.”

Mr. Kiser said the first section to be razed will be the one closest to the parking garage. “It’s a one story section so you won’t be able to see much of what’s going on from Witherspoon Street or Franklin Avenue,” he said. “Then, they are planning to work in towards Franklin Avenue.”

The work is anticipated to take four to six months, Mr. Kiser said, echoing what John Mucha of Yannuzzi Wrecking and Recycling Corporation, the company carrying out the demolition, told members of the public at a meeting on September 3. Residents were assured that noise from the process would be monitored, and that AvalonBay had hired an acoustical consultant to be on site.

Noise during recent weeks has come from the breaking up of concrete on the upper level of the parking garage. “We had one complaint, but we found out it actually had to do with another process having to do with cutting asphalt,” said Jeffrey Grosser, Princeton’s health officer. “But that was temporary.”

Regarding noise from the breaking up of concrete, Mr. Grosser said AvalonBay’s acoustical consultant, Cerami & Associates, “is working to alleviate any noise that sounds like a nuisance. In the event that levels spike or we have complaints, we’ll go to them to make sure they take some additional measures,” he said.

Mr. Grosser added that the staff will meet weekly, or more frequently, to go over demolition-related issues. “The fact that they have a consultant on site is a good preventive measure,” he said. Mr. Grosser is working alongside the Mercer County Division of Public Health to  provide additional noise monitoring.

In an update issued Monday from the municipality, it was reported that it will take 10 to 11 months to complete repairs to the parking garage, and that Yannuzzi anticipates completing the removal of asbestos material from the hospital buildings this week.

Any complaints regarding noise should be directed to the town’s engineering department at (609) 921-7077.