OXFORD – The wrecking ball is set to strike the former Oxford Veterans’ Home sometime this spring or summer, according to a Sept. 24 correspondence from the New York State Department of Health.

Facilities Management Director Val S. Gray confirmed that the current facility would be demolished “shortly after relocation of residents and staff into the new facility.” The existing building will be occupied until late fall of 2009.

The lands are to be used to supplement the adjacent new facility’s bio-retention system; for creating more parking; for resident recreational activities and to create gardens and ample green space.

The director said the DOH has reviewed the options presented for the existing building and been “very sensitive to the needs of the veteran population and the local community.”