OXFORD – Pre-demolition work has begun at the old Vets’ Home in Oxford, as contractors prepare to tear down the facility, which housed veterans for the better part of four decades.
According to Susan Barnett, public information officer for the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY), Gorick Construction of Binghamton was awarded the approximately $677,000 contract for the demolition.
“There is no ‘must start’ date, but asbestos abatement procedures are underway,” Barnett confirmed on Monday.
At present, the installation of a chain link fence around the facility and the construction of a dirt access road adjacent to the parking area are the only outward signs that work has begun.
According to the DASNY spokesperson, completion of the project is expected by summer of 2011.
Commerce Chenango President Maureen Carpenter and other local advocates, including Village of Oxford Mayor Terry Stark and Oxford resident Dave Emerson, have spent more than two years lobbying to save the building from the wrecking ball.
On Tuesday, Carpenter expressed her frustration with New York State over decision to demolish the structure, rather than find another use for the facility.
The demolition, she said, is “another instance of government departments wasting resources, tossing aside valuable assets that could be used for future development.”
The NYS Department of Health, which oversees New York’s five state-run veterans’ facilities, declined to comment on the impending demolition, as did Gorick Construction.