The village of Glenview is planning to demolish a former industrial site, which the village acquired earlier this year, over the summer.
Glenview elected officials on May 5 approved a contract with Chicago-based Alliance Demolition and Excavation Services for demolition work at the former Signode property at 3600–3700 West Lake Avenue, east of Glenbrook High School.
The cost of the work totals just under $2 million.
Village trustees approved the expense with several other measures that were included on the meeting’s consent agenda. There was no discussion prior to the vote.
Trustees voted in November to purchase the 56-acre Signode site for $23.4 million, and the village closed on the property in February after additional environmental studies were conducted, said village spokesperson David Just.
Village officials plan to redevelop the Signode site with recreational and public uses, as well as open space.
Playgrounds, athletic fields, sports facilities, trails and natural areas have been floated as ideas for the site, and public meetings with community members will help determine what may be delivered on the site, officials said.
The property currently includes several buildings that were used for offices, manufacturing and distribution, as well as parking lots, driving areas and a railroad spur once used for deliveries, according to the village.
The demolition work is slated to begin soon and be wrapped up by the end of the year, a memo from the village said. The work will include removal of two underground storage tanks and asbestos removal and abatement.
In December, prior to purchasing the property, Glenview trustees authorized a $49,900 limited supplemental environmental assessment of soil samples, groundwater and concrete slabs from building floors, which revealed “no major environmental issues,” Just said.
According to a report from Carlson Environmental, the firm hired to conduct the studies, a soil sample from one area of the property revealed the need for “further evaluation or active remediation,” but “no other significant concentrations of contaminants were detected in the soil, concrete or groundwater samples analyzed.”
Various chemicals and metals at low levels are noted in the report.
This supplemental study followed earlier environmental and asbestos studies authorized by a previous prospective buyer that, along with a site survey, were purchased by the village at a cost of $105,105. These studies “found no substantial issues,” per Director of Community Development Jeff Brady.
Signode ended its Glenview operations in 2022. Heavy industrial work on the site dates back to the mid-1950s, Carlson Environmental said.
