Will County awards $1.5 million courthouse demolition contract

Will County on Thursday finalized an almost $1.5-million contract for demolition of the old county courthouse.

The contract was awarded to American Demolition Corp. of Carol Stream for $1,488,600.

The county is still in the process of obtaining a demolition permit but expects preliminary work to begin sometime in November on the building in downtown Joliet, said Michael Theodore, spokesman for Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant.

“Now that a contractor has been identified, the executive office will meet with the company to establish a detailed timeline,” Theodore said in an email. “The initial, estimated timeline is that the company will begin mobilizing in November to begin the demolition process, which includes removing building systems and furniture from the building before initiating demolition.”

American Demolition was the third lowest bidder among nine contractors who submitted bids ranging from $950,000 to $2.5 million.

The awarding of the demolition contract follows attempts by preservationists and some county board members to save the building, which is considered the best local representation of the Brutalist style of architecture prevalent at its time of construction in 1969.

The county is in the process of working out an agreement with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for compilations of a documentary record of the building before a demolition permit can be issued.

The county executive’s office moved ahead with a contract after the Will County Board Executive Committee rejected a proposal to create a committee to study potential reuse of the courthouse.