More than eight years since Crystal Palace were first granted planning permission to redevelop their Selhurst Park stadium, significant work has finally begun.The project to replace the 102-year-old Main Stand and make other improvements to the stadium has dragged on and on since it was first unveiled in 2017 and planning permission was granted in principle in 2018. Costs have risen sharply in the intervening years, with various design tweaks made along the way.Enabling works began in 2024, with actual construction anticipated last summer only to be delayed. But now, supporters are seeing tangible progress. The start of construction is not far away.Here, The Athletic looks at where the process has reached.What is happening at Selhurst?At long last, the demolition of six houses in Wooderson Close, the residential road in the shadow of Selhurst Park, has begun.Palace have begun to knock down the properties — five council-owned and one privately — with a sign put up saying there will be no pedestrian access through the main entrance gates to Selhurst Park off Holmesdale Road as a result of “planned construction work”.Demolition of the six houses in Wooderson Close has begun ahead of the new Main Stand redevelopment at Selhurst Park ❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/Xk6rrgFCmz— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) June 23, 2026At the time of The Athletic’s visit last week, all but one of the houses had been demolished, creating a line of sight from Wooderson Close to the stadium for the first time since they were built. Residents have long since been relocated, receiving compensation and new homes of the equivalent size elsewhere within the borough of Croydon.There are also hoardings erected in part of the club’s car park next to Sainsbury’s supermarket, which is where the temporary hospitality building will sit for those who will be affected by the removal of Speroni’s restaurant and other lounges, housed in the Main Stand, in order to maintain the corporate income these provide.This is the first visible work for the redevelopment, with more cosmetic changes having also been instigated — such as the removal of club offices to the building above the Whitehorse Lane end, which previously hosted the Crystals nightclub.The demolished houses in Wooderson Close, with the Main Stand on the right (The Athletic)So is the Main Stand redevelopment actually happening?It certainly appears so.Palace have put extensive work into reaching this stage. They have, via outsourced companies, produced detailed information about how the build will look and what the timescale is, and have produced a construction plan.They submitted a request to Croydon Council for the project to be undertaken in phases for the purpose of spreading the cost of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) payments rather than having to meet those costs all at once. They had been granted permission in March for some relatively minor design changes and made a request to vary the planning permission to conduct work in phases.The effort to build temporary hospitality, knock down the Wooderson Close houses, relocate those residents, and the back-and-forth with the council — as well as the costs incurred to date, which will run into the millions — mean there is every reason to believe the stadium will be redeveloped. It would take something catastrophic for this to no longer go ahead.