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Asbestos removal delays old nursing dorm implosion

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By Barb Ickes | Sunday, August 12, 2007 |

Old Moline nursing dorm to be imploded.

The owner of the old nursing school and dormitory in Moline is waiting for the state’s go-ahead to pull asbestos out of the building before it can be imploded.

Developer Mike Shamsie had hoped to have the seven-story building loaded with charges and blown up by now, but it has been delayed by the discovery of asbestos in some flooring materials and pipes.

“We’re working on an asbestos-abatement plan, which will need EPA approval,” he said this week. “When that’s all done, the asbestos can be removed.

“Within a month from now we’ll have certification to proceed with demolition.”

The building occupies a large chunk of the hillside on the west side of 6th Street, which is just across from Shamsie’s housing development, One Moline Place.

The mixed-use development, which consists of single-family and multi-family units, formerly was the site of Moline Public Hospital, which also was imploded.

The old Lutheran Hospital, which sat behind the nursing school and dormitory, was the first building on the bluff to fall.

City officials are eager to see the last building go, City Administrator Lew Steinbrecher said.

“I don’t know about the timetable, but the city certainly would advocate to the EPA to approve the plan as quickly as possible,” he said. “It’s in everyone’s best interest to facilitate the implosion of this building.”

While some neighbors have said they simply want the eyesore to be gone, city officials have their own reasons for wanting the dorm imploded: The new houses that will replace it will bring new property taxes with them.

“We are concerned, given its current condition, but our main interest simply is to move the project along,” Steinbrecher said.

When the dormitory debris is hauled away and the land is cleared, new roads will be added and, ultimately, dozens of lots will be sold for new construction. All of the housing lots on the east side of 6th Street, which is the first phase of One Moline Place, have been sold, Shamsie said.

Barb Ickes can be contacted at (563) 383-2316 or bickes@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.