Brainerd Building demolition could start Monday, District 128 official says

If you're feeling nostalgic about Libertyville's old Brainerd Building and want to say goodbye before it comes down, you'd better act fast.

Demolition of the 97-year-old former high school and the adjoining Jackson Gym building is set to begin next week, possibly as soon as Monday, Nov. 3, Libertyville-Vernon Hills Area High School District 128 spokeswoman Mary Todoric said.

Last week, crews with an Elk Grove Village company called Asbestos Inspection and Management began removing potentially dangerous asbestos from the buildings, which are on Route 176 just east of the current Libertyville High School. That work should be completed Wednesday, Todoric said.

A Michigan firm called Dore and Associates will handle demolition. It will be paid $484,800 for the job.

The asbestos removal was expected to cost an estimated $45,000.

Because of health and safety issues, no one is allowed inside the building for photographs. But people can take pictures of the buildings' exteriors.

Once the structures are razed, the space will be filled in with dirt for the winter, Todoric said. In spring 2015, some of the land will be converted to green space for athletic uses. Another part will be paved over for parking.

A memorial marking the site as the former home of the Brainerd Building will be added, too.

Details will be finalized during the winter, Todoric said.

"Ultimately, the legacy of the Brainerd property is that it will, as it had for decades, continue to serve the needs of Libertyville High School students," Superintendent Prentiss Lea said. "Although the physical buildings will be gone, students will be learning, growing and achieving at ever higher levels on the footprint of the original building."

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Brainerd Building demolition could start Monday, District 128 official says