Demolition begins on Illinois mall

Demolition began on the Lincoln Mall in Matteson, Illinois, making way for possible development plans, a report by the Chicago Tribune says. Environmental Cleansing Corp. of Markham, Illinois, was hired by the village to tear down the buildings.

All the mall’s structures will be torn down, except for a Carson’s store. The 711,000-square-foot mall closed in the middle of January 2015.

Crews began with the former Sears store on the mall’s south side on May 8, and is scheduled to take around four months to complete. According to Matt Konopko, the company’s president, more than 90 percent of the materials from the demolition will be recycled. Concrete will be crushed on-site and used as fill while materials such as steel will be extracted and recycled off site.

Despite the building’s age, with the Lincoln Mall opening in 1973, little asbestos was found in the structure. According to the report, some floor tiles in nonpublic areas of the mall, such as storage rooms, contained small amounts.

Environmental Cleansing was previously hired to tear down portions of the mall 10 years ago, including an empty store space.

Cook County Circuit Court Judge Tom Condon ordered that the mall’s demolition goes through in response to a request by the village of Matteson because of safety concerns. According to the report, the village doesn’t own the mall’s entire property but the court order gave it the right to demolish the entire structure.

The village plans to use $3.5 million in tax increment financing funds to purchase receiver’s certificates and finance the demolition, the report says. Village trustees gave Mack Developers of Tinley Park a six month contract to come up with a redevelopment plan. Plans to redevelop the space are permitted only if the village acquires the rest of the property.