Timeline set for demolition of old hospital

A plan submitted to city officials last week gives a timeline for action on one of Corbin’s most notorious eyesores.
Jim Davenport, Deputy Director with the Kentucky Communities Economic Opportunity Council, Inc. (KCEOC), said he hopes demolition on the old Southeastern Kentucky Baptist Hospital, located off Bishop Street in Corbin.
Vacant for the past 19 years, the hospital has been an enticing target for vandals and thrill-seekers and has been described as a prime example of blight in the city. KCEOC purchased the property earlier this year and, for the first time, detailed last week how they plan to proceed with cleaning up the area.
Already, overgrown brush and weeds have been removed from the area and some trees have been cut. The plan calls for all entrances and windows to be boarded up in three to four weeks and for concrete barriers to be erected across driveways within six weeks to restrict access to the building. KCEOC also plans to put a gate at the main entrance of the property.
At a regular monthly meeting of the Code Enforcement Board, Davenport said he hopes his organization can obtain funding for demolition by mid-2006. Demolition is slated to begin in Spring 2007.
Portions of the building are contaminated with asbestos – a known cancer causing substance that was commonly used as an insulator in many buildings. Its use has been outlawed.
“That’s going to be one of the biggest chunks, removing that,” Davenport said. “There’s a lot involved with it. The air quality is the biggest issue.”
The entire building would have to be sealed during the removal process in order to prevent the asbestos from contaminating the surrounding air.
Once removed, Davenport said the hospital property and surrounding land would be used for housing developments. The action plan calls for “blended” housing in Fall 2007.
“We are looking at townhouses, primarily,” he said. “What we will do is when we get the site razed, then we will really examine what’s around there … the types of housing available and trying to fit in. We don’t want anything that’s a lot cheaper than anything there or something that’s a lot more expensive. We’re trying to get things that complement the area.”
The action plan coincides with a court battle over the fate of the old hospital site file earlier this year. Corbin attorney David O. Smith, who is representing a company he solely owns called EZ Construction, filed suit in Whitley Circuit Court against the City of Corbin attempting to force the city to demolish the structure. KCEOC was added to the civil complaint in September.
Smith filed a motion for summary judgment Monday which could, if a judge orders, lead to forced demolition of the hospital earlier than the KCEOC action plan calls for. Corbin City Attorney Bob Hammons filed an objection to the motion stating, among other things, that the city doesn’t have the budgetary means to tear the building down.
Smith said he plans to file a motion for a trial on the issue in the near future.
KCEOC is a non-profit community action organization established in 1964 to help ease the strain of poverty in Southeastern Kentucky. The organization provides housing, conducts workforce development programs and runs Head Start programs, among other community improvement activities.