St. Francis moved one step closer to the wrecking ball Monday.

Wayne Parker, Provo city's chief administrative officer, confirmed Monday that an application for demolition of the St. Francis Church had been filed by Landmark Partners.

The Historic Provo Preservation Foundation, which has been seeking to save the historic building, still wants to buy the church. But Doug Bush, president of the preservation foundation said that the group made several efforts to contact Landmark Partners on Monday but calls were not returned.

The preservation foundation experienced a major setback last week when a "computer glitch" nixed what they believed to be their last chance at buying and preserving the 72 year-old Mission-Style church.

Peter Duros of Landmark Partners told the Daily Herald last week that they would still be willing to sell the church to the preservation group, "if they have the money."

Despite the application for the demolition permit, the actual dismantling of the church may take some time. According to Parker, the problem with demolishing the church is the asbestos in the building. State law requires that an environmental study be conducted prior to the demolition of a building that contains asbestos. Parker said that this process could take days or weeks.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D1.