Old Sherman Hospital to become green space

The old Sherman Hospital off Center Street in Elgin has been demolished and will be turned into green space — at least for now.

The building had been empty since the hospital moved to Randall Road in December 2009. The left-behind six-story hospital and parking garage occupied 4 acres that will be converted to green space by Fourth of July at the latest, said project coordinator Dawn Stoner.

Altogether, Sherman Hospital owns 13 acres there that hold a medical office building and Greater Elgin Family Care Center.

Sherman is not planning to sell the parcel, which might be re-purposed at some point in the future, Stoner said.

“We’re maintaining ownership. Should the need arise for some type of medical service in the future, we’ll have the space available,” she said. “(The green space) could be temporary; we don’t know yet.”

Demolition started in July and was finished in mid-December, after the building was torn down one floor at a time.

“This isn’t a site where we could blow things up. We had to bring in the heavy machinery to bring it down piece by piece,” Stoner said.

The demolition contractor, Chicago-based Brandenburg, will be done grading the site in four to five weeks, she said. Grass seeds will be planted in the spring, when paving and concrete work will be done, too.

The project and all landscaping will be completed by Fourth of July at the latest, Stoner said. “That’s even stretching it,” she said.

More information, including a map of the redevelopment, is available at shermanhealth.com/centerstreet.