Iowa juvenile home slated for demolition

DW Zinser Co., based in Walford, Iowa, has reportedly won a bid to demolish the former Iowa Juvenile Home in Toledo, Iowa. The institution, at times called either the Iowa Juvenile Home or Girls State Training School, closed in early 2014.

An report by the Times-Republican says the city council of Toledo approved a resolution to fund what is being called a restoration and demolition project on the site.

Current plans call for a new middle school to be built on the redeveloped land, along with some housing units.

Prior regional media coverage of the building indicate it sits on 27 acres of land. It hosted Iowa children’s services functions as early as 1920 and was leased to Bible colleges in its later years, before being targeted as a candidate for redevelopment in the 2010s.

The resolution of the city council effectively accepts the DW Zinser Co. bid to perform its work for $813,200. The newspaper says demolition work is expected to begin Nov. 1, and the project could take more than five months.

A regional economic development official quoted in the article says DW Zinser has “more in-house services that are part of this project than any other bidder.”

DW Zinser has offered demolition and recycling services for more than 35 years.