Bidding Open For Asbestos Removal, Demo At Tinley Mental Center Land

TINLEY PARK, IL — Tinley Park-Park District officials have taken the next step in restoring the blighted former Tinley Mental Health Center property.

Officials on Thursday announced the park district has begun the bidding process for the next phases of the state-funded clean up and demolition at the site of the former Tinley Park Mental Health Center at 183rd and Harlem Avenue.

The park district’s bid includes removal of asbestos and other hazardous materials inside buildings on the property, followed by demolition of all 45 buildings on the site. The bidding process will be open for 30 days, and park district officials anticipate the work to begin this summer. The extensive cleanup project of all 280 acres of vacant land is being funded through $15 million in state funding awarded to the park district as the land's new owner.

Once the bid is awarded and in place, officials will provide updates to residents on all aspects of these next phases of cleanup, including more detailed timing of the work and the precautions that will be in place to ensure the safety of the surrounding community during these efforts. Officials have previously said they will incorporate air quality testing measures throughout the material removal process, to ensure residents' air will not be impacted.

"We are moving diligently through this cleanup process to ensure this vacant eyesore is improved for our community," said Lisa O’Donovan, Park District Board Commissioner and Chair of the Remediate 280 Committee, which is overseeing clean-up of the site.

The park district began cleanup efforts last fall by engaging in an updated environmental study, conducted by Tetra Tech, to determine the extent of remediation needed. Find Tetra Tech’s report on the Park District’s website. Over the winter, vegetation and overgrowth on the property was cut back to provide access to roads and buildings on the site and complete the clean-up process. In addition, in February, crews safely removed three underground storage tanks that remained on the property.

A tour of the property in February told a story of a small "village" within the village—buildings abandoned and frozen in time. Cracked roads winding through graffiti-splashed buildings with shattered windows and deserted recreation areas.

"Today marks an historic day for the Park District of Tinley Park and our community," O’Donovan said in February. "We are proud to be turning this blighted property into another reason to love Tinley parks."

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"With every step of this process, we will continue to update the community on our progress cleaning up all 280 acres of the vacant land," said Ashley Rubino, Park District Board Commissioner and Co-Chair of the Remediate 280 Committee.

The park district paid $1 to obtain the site in February. Previous cost to purchase was estimated at $4.5 million, with Village officials seeking ownership.

The clean-up process is being led by the park district's expert team of former Illinois EPA Director Renee Cipriano and leading environmental attorney Elizabeth S. Harvey, with the oversight of the IEPA. The experts are helping ensure the safety of environmental work done at the site as well as receive the IEPA’s stamp of approval to redevelop the site once the clean-up work is done.

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Park district officials also hired Michael Maloney as project manager to lead all clean-up work on site. Maloney is a Tinley Park resident and former President of Local Union 597, the largest pipefitters union in Illinois, who worked for decades as a construction superintendent, managing large workforces on a variety of multimillion-dollar projects involving highly radioactive components in nuclear power stations across northern Illinois.

More information and updates can be found on the Park District’s website.