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Demolition Projects in the Galesburg School District

The Technology Learning Center sits at the corner of Fremont and Seminary Streets.
T.J. Carson
The Technology Learning Center sits at the corner of Fremont and Seminary Streets.

Two buildings owned by the Galesburg School District will be torn down over the summer.  The Board of Education this month agreed to demolish the Technology Learning Center. It earlier approved the demolition of Silas Elementary, which is next door to the TLC.

The elementary school will be replaced by a new Silas Elementary.  The site of the current building will be turned into a playground for the new school.

As for the TLC, Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Hamm said tearing it down was cheapest option for the district, with the cost coming in at around $500,000.The radio story.

"The building was estimated to need repairs in the neighborhood of $2.7 million.  We also looked at an option of demolishing a portion of that building and leaving the server room where it is in the tech facility. That came in at $1.3 million," Hamm said.

Hamm said hardware from the TLC will be moved into new Silas Elementary. She said asbestos abatement for that building still needs to be done, with bidding for the project expected next month.

"If old Silas was $94,000, I would say the TLC will be well under that," Hamm said of the potential cost of the work.

Hamm said the district will look to package that with asbestos removal at the high school building over the summer.

Copyright 2021 Tri States Public Radio. To see more, visit Tri States Public Radio.

T.J. Carson is the Galesburg correspondent for Tri States Public Radio. His duties include reporting on current events in the cities of Galesburg and Monmouth, and Knox County. He returns to TSPR after serving as a student reporter and host in 2006. Before Tri States Public Radio, he was a news reporter for WSPL-AM in Streator, IL. At WSPL, T.J. earned two awards from the Illinois Associated Press; Outstanding Single Story Contribution in 2011, and Contributor of the Month for February 2008. T.J. is a native of Lacon, IL. He is a graduate of Midland High School in Varna, IL, where he participated in baseball and football all four years, as well as the Scholastic Bowl team. He received his bachelor's degree from Western Illinois University in the fall of 2006, where he participated in numerous activities for the student-run radio station, as well as public address announcing for the Western Illinois Leatherneck baseball and softball teams. In his spare time, T.J. enjoys baseball, golf, watching animation, and drawing. He has also been a Guest of Honor at fan-created conventions for the television program 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'.