Contractors Preparing For Demolition Of Mercy Hospital Building

mercyhospital-3
mercyhospital-3

The preparation work to demolish the former Mercy Hospital building in Benton Harbor is now underway. Berrien County Treasurer Bret Witkowski says the contractor is on site, and a lot needs to be done before they can take the wrecking ball to the structure.

“They’ve got to go through and get the asbestos out, they’ll have to go through and remove the water and those types of things,” Witkowski told WSJM. “We’ll have the wires taken down, and also the company has said, ‘If we find the cornerstone for the building, we’re going to take that out also.”

The cornerstone would be given to a local organization to be preserved for historic purposes. Witkowski says he’s confident there will be buyers for the property once the old hospital is gone. He expects the prep work to take a few months, adding he’ll notify the public prior to the actual demolition.