Demolition of Broadview expected in 2023; Galesburg expects court order in November
GALESBURG — The Broadview Inn & Suites is expected to be demolished by the spring of 2023, according to Galesburg’s interim city manager Wayne Carl.
That estimate comes after Galesburg City Council unanimously voted in favor of hiring the Klingner & Associates architecture and engineering firm during a city council meeting Monday night, the next step in tearing down the building at 29 Public Square.
Council members Wayne Dennis and Sarah Davis were absent.
For $20,500, the firm will now draft documents related to the bidding-out and technical specifications of the derelict hotel’s demolition.
More:Roundtable: What's best to replace Broadview on Public Square in Galesburg?
Carl estimated that Klingner’s plans will be finished by the first week of November, which is when the city also expects to receive a court order giving the city permission to tear down the hotel. With those two items in hand, the city will then be able to bid out the demolition to a contractor.
The demolition could begin, depending on weather and the contractor’s schedule, in early 2023 and would likely tear down the building one floor at a time, Carl said.
The council approved initiating the lengthy process to tear down the hotel in March 2022. City documents state the building continues to be broken into, shows signs of physical disrepair and has lacked water since 2021, leaving it without any fire protection.
Carl said the city does not yet possess the hotel property, as the process of foreclosing and repossessing it may take an additional four to six months. The cost of the demolition of the building will be added to the property’s lien.
There have been eight administrative adjudication cases for nuisance and criminal violations since the hotel closed in the spring of 2020, and the owners of the property currently owe the city $16,514 in unpaid fines and $4,881 in outstanding water bills.
More:Galesburg plans to demolish Broadview Inn; could take year before wrecking ball swings
City documents state the “removal of this blighted building will remove a public safety hazard to citizens and make way for future development.”
Carl said Steve Gugliotta, the city's community development director, prepared the professional services agreement that will be considered by the city council Monday night.
Carl also said the legal process to acquire the demolition permission and possession over the hotel property has been continued "seamlessly" by the city's new law firm, Barash and Everett, after the city's previous attorney Brad Nolden resigned Sept. 3.
This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: Galesburg to tear down Broadview Inn in 2023, expect court order
