Demolition began Wednesday to take down the former St. Johns Village retail center in Avondale to make way for apartments. Realco Recycling Co. Inc. is the demolition subcontractor for the vacant retail center at 4000 St. Johns Ave. Developer Chance Partners LLC owns that site and the adjacent 16-story Commander Apartments, which are being redeveloped into an 88-unit building. The entire 228-unit project should be completed in phases by summer 2018. It will be rebranded with a new name. St. Johns Village was built in 1987 and the Commander in 1961.