Wednesday, Jul. 01, 2009

Demolition near for Madison County sheltered care home

EDWARDSVILLE -- Demolition of the old sheltered care home owned by Madison County is expected to begin in the next few days.

The site near downtown Edwardsville will then become an open space, according to county administrator Joe Parente.

"Right now there's no plans to put the property on the market, nor has the county been approached by anybody about selling it," Parente said.

The Madison County Board voted last year to close the sheltered care home. Its building was about 140 years old.

Demolition will begin when the county gets the OK from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. The agency is expected to give approval by July 9.

The demolition, which will be done by Green-Tac, of Bunker Hill, for about $55,000, should take about two weeks.

County workers will fill in the remaining holes and plant grass.

The county's "poor farm" was originally at the site, then the county began operating a nursing home there. It became the sheltered care home in 1971, intended as an alternative for disabled and elderly people who did not require the services of a nursing home but could not live independently or in assisted living.

In early 2008, the home provided housing for about 40 people.

Various parties opposed the closing of the home. Earlier this year, the county agreed to fund a new supportive-living center in Collinsville as part of a court settlement involving the closing of the sheltered care home.

The Edwardsville Historic Preservation Commission opposed demolition of the building, but county leaders said it would require more than $300,000 in work to get the building in proper condition.