Demolition of the former Long Kesh/Maze prison has begun with the support of Sinn Féin, the DUP and the British government.
A mechanical digger moved in on Cage 20 yesterday morning, one of the compounds at the Long Kesh site which was used to house republican prisoners.
Demolition of all but one of the H-blocks is expected to begin early in 2007 as the 350-acre site is transformed into a multi-sports facility, leisure and business park.
The plans include a sports stadium as well as a centre for conflict transformation to be situated in the former prison hospital where 10 republican hunger strikers died in 1981.
Development could cost up to £1 billion (€1.49 billion) although an official source at Stormont says such an estimate is excessive. Significant investment from the private sector will also be necessary.
Long Kesh was used to house more than 400 internees when detention without trial was introduced in August 1971.
The prisoners were held in compounds containing Nissen huts at an old RAF airfield just outside Lisburn, Co Antrim, about 17 kilometres from Belfast.
Five years later, many prisoners were transferred to the new H-blocks at the Maze and kept in cells under a stricter prison regime.
The prison finally closed in September 2000 following the phased release of prisoners "on licence" under the terms of the 1998 Belfast Agreement.
The final four inmates were transferred to the new Maghaberry prison a short distance away or to Magilligan prison in Co Derry.
David Hanson, the direct rule minister with responsibility for justice, hailed the political significance of the demolition.
"Clearing the site will be part of the mission to transform it into a symbol of economic and social regeneration, renewal and growth," he said. "The demolition of the Maze/Long Kesh, leaving only those former prison buildings which have been given statutory protection, marks a further step towards achieving the goal of a new future for the site, a future that can be shared by the whole community."
Political opponents who are also members of the Maze/Long Kesh Monitoring Group, welcomed the start of redevelopment work.
Local DUP Assembly member Edwin Poots said that the work signified "a clear demonstration that the Maze/Long Kesh proposals are gathering further momentum and represent a major step forward to reshape this site".
Mr Poots said Sinn Féin had given an assurance that the conflict transformation centre would not become "a republican shrine".
Sinn Féin's Paul Butler, said the listed prison buildings "can play a huge role in the transformation from conflict to peace".
"Sinn Féin's primary concern in all of this has been to see the preservation of the Long Kesh site because of its historical importance not just to republicans but to the wider community as well."
Despite some misgivings the major sporting organisations in the North have already signalled their support for the development.
Belfast City Council has voiced its preference for a new sports facility to be built in the city and not located at an out-of-town site such as the Maze.
The site plan will include an international conflict resolution centre, equestrian facilities and an exhibition centre. These could be complemented by office, hotel, leisure, bar and restaurant facilities. An industrial park, which would aim to attract investment from outside the North, may eventually help create 5,000 jobs, according to one estimate.
The Maze site, adjacent to the M1 and its links to the west and south, is expected to prompt the development of a new rail connection.