By Adam Studzinski
NORMAL – The former Illinois Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Children’s School Administration Building will be demolished after the Normal Town Council approved a deal Monday night with the property’s owner.
The town will be paying to demolish the building, which is likely to cost about $500,000. At that point, owner Nicolas Africano will be handing the land over to Normal, but he has an option to buy the land back within two years.
It’s that part of the deal which made Councilman Scott Preston uneasy. Both Councilwoman Kathleen Lorenz and he voted against the agreement.
“I think that Mr. Africano could still make an offer, could still potentially get re-involved in it, but not at the expense of closing the door on everybody else in that time,” Preston said.
However, Preston and Lorenz agreed demolition is the best option for the building. Councilman Jeff Fritzen said the building has become a liability.
“There has been, you know, some vandalism,” said Fritzen. “It is a bit of a magnet for some young folks to have an adventure and some have gotten into trouble having those adventures.”
It’s expected the building will be gone by the end of the year.
Adam Studzinski can be reached at adam.studzinski@cumulus.com.
