SHAWANO, WI (WTAQ) – Shawano city leaders and officials from ThedaCare say the former Shawano Medical Center building will be torn down and the land made available for redevelopment.
The announcement was made Wednesday.
ThedaCare plans to apply for local and state demolition permits. The approval process is expected to take about 45 days, with demolition taking another 45 to 60 days.
Both entities have considered two proposals to reuse the building since the new ThedaCare Medical Center-Shawano facility opened last September. Neither plans, however, worked out.
Back in 2013, the city and ThedaCare agreed to tear down the former hospital if the building could not be reused.
“ThedaCare and the City have been working hard to find a creative reuse for the building for three years,” Dorothy Erdmann, CEO of ThedaCare Medical Center-Shawano, said in a news release. “The building was well-maintained and well-loved, and served the community for over 80 years. Now, it has become apparent that it’s time to move on. We are taking steps to honor our commitment to the community to not allow the old building to languish and become a burden. ThedaCare will spend the money to take down the building, as we promised.”
ThedaCare hopes to recycle about 90 percent of the hospital’s components, such as copper pipes and wires, interior wooden doors, windows, bricks and kitchen equipment. Some furniture such as desks, chairs and file cabinets, was given to charitable organizations.
