At most groundbreakings, elected officials will merely stick a shovel in the ground and throw some dirt from one place to another. Not Mayor Vince Gray, though.

Today at the Skyland Shopping Center, located at the intersection of Alabama Avenue, Good Hope Road and Naylor Road SE, Gray stepped behind the controls of a backhoe for the first step in the demolition and redevelopment of the site—and helped knock down a wall.

If that seems a little gung-ho, it’s easy to see why: Skyland’s redevelopment has been stuck in litigation for years, and it was only recently that many of the pending claims at the 18-acre site were closed and work could begin on what will eventually be lots of retail—including, at some point, a Walmart—restaurants and housing. (One claim remains, but D.C. officials say they will be resolved by the end of the year.)

Gray wasn’t the only one wielding heavy machinery, though—Councilmember Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) also got in on the action.