Peoria County plans to demolish the former Bel-wood Nursing Home facility this year.
Scott Sorrel is the Assistant to the Peoria County Administrator. He says it costs more than $100,000 in power bills to maintain the vacated building and there are few things for which a former nursing home facility could be re-purposed.
Sorrell says they are going to demolish the building and take the land back to black dirt. “We currently have a contractual lease for someone to cash rent the county farm and this is going to be added to that contract. It’s about 15, 17 acres of farmground.”
Sorrel says land will be used for row crops and it will mean between $3,000 and $8,000 income a year to the county. He says the land will also be more marketable for redevelopment as a green field.