26 years after seeing its last patient and falling into serious disrepair, St. Joseph Riverside Hospital will finally be coming down.

The Trumbull County Land Bank is holding a public meeting about the demolition of the former hospital located at 1307 North Tod Avenue in Warren.

The public is invited Monday at 6 pm at Grace United Methodist, located at 1725 Drexel Ave. NW, Warren, to hear more about the plan and the timetable for the former hospital.

The Trumbull County Land Bank, members from the City of Warren and the environmental consultant working on the project, will be seeking input from residents and stakeholders within the city to discuss the process for the cleanup of the site, project timelines and completion date and brainstorm for the future of the site.

The 300,000-square ft. property's existing structure was first utilized by St. Joseph Riverside Hospital from the late 1950s through 1996, but the building has undergone multiple additions since its construction in 1923 including improvements to the south wing in 2004 and 2007.

Trumbull County Trumbull County Land Bank Director Shawn Carvin told 21 News that the property is undergoing environmental remediation, which includes asbestos removal from the building. Around 80 percent of the asbestos has been removed, and once completed, allowing for the scheduling of the demolition of the property.

Demolition will be handled by ProQuality Land Development from Campbell, and is expected to take place in December or early January. The landscaping after demolition is expected to be done by early spring.

Back in April, the city was awarded $3.4 million dollars through the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program to assist with the cost of demolition of the former St. Joseph Riverside Hospital, on top of the $2.5 million for the asbestos removal.

Governor Mike DeWine came to the Valley in April and discussed the demolition funds and remediation plans for the site.
 
The hospital closed in 1996 when St. Joseph Riverside merged with Warren General Hospital, when Humility of Mary Health Care, which is now known as Mercy Health, acquired the Eastland Avenue facility — and moved all operations to that location.
 
Carvin said while there are no immediate plans for the parcel, the land will be restored to a grass field, but mentioned all options would be considered, including looking at the flooding in the area for a potential of a storm remediation area.