City will raze old hospital

The building which housed Red Oak’s first hospital is set for demolition. 

The building, at the corner of 4th Street and East Washington Avenue, was built in 1907 as the Murphy Memorial Hospital. After the building was vacated, it was converted from a hospital to apartments. In recent years, the building sat vacant and was later sold on a tax sale, before being acquired by the city after the buyer ceased making tax payments. 

Plans for the building’s demolition have been on the radar for some time, said city manager Brad Wright. The pieces came together for the building to be taken down during the city’s next fiscal year. 

“This is something we knew was going to need to happen. This will be a ‘large ticket’ item, so we do not rush into these lightly. There were a couple of timing factors that came into play. Once we acquired the tax sale certificate from the county, there was a 90-day notice that we granted. The notice expired just after the first of January. Also, with the first of the new calendar year, there are funds available through Southwest Iowa Planning Council to offset a portion of the demolition costs,” Wright said, adding the timeline for the demolition will be based on several factors. 

“SWIPCO will be handling the bids for us. They will be sending out proposals for the asbestos testing and abatement first. This will take place within the next few days. Any asbestos must be abated before demolition can occur. Depending upon how much asbestos abatement is required, I would hope that we will be moving forward with demolition by early-to-mid summer,” said Wright.

He said that eliminating properties such as this demonstrated progress and a commitment to community betterment. 

“With the proximity of this particular property to our downtown area, this may very potentially spur other development in the downtown.”

As of yet, no official plans have been made for the property once the building is gone. 

“There have been some very preliminary conversations about potential use of the lot once the demolition is complete, but nothing definite at this time,” he said. 

Other properties facing demolition this year include 500 and 502 E. Nuckols, and 309 E. Elm Street. Wright stressed that any demolition projects by the city were only done out of necessity. 

“Demolition by the city is always a last resort. This only happens when efforts to get the property owner to take the necessary corrective action fails.”