Hannibal City Council OKs process to remove St. Elizabeth Hospital from National Register of Historic Places

HANNIBAL, Mo. — The city of Hannibal took a crucial first step in the potential demolition of historic St. Elizabeth Hospital.

At Tuesday’s Hannibal City Council meeting aldermen gave approval for City Manager Lisa Peck to begin the 106 process to remove the hospital from the National Register of Historic Places.

“The 106 process will help us if we have to apply for any grants or anything like that for remediation, things like that,” Mayor Barry Louderman said. “We could do it without the 106 and just take it down ourselves, but this way it allows us to go out for grants and things to help with the cost.”

The 106 process can be lengthy, often taking several months, but the current condition of the hospital could expedite the process.

“Anytime you’re dealing with the federal government, state government, you know how their wheels turn,” Louderman said. “In our case, with the building in the condition it is, we’re hoping it’s quicker than normal.”

Louderman said the building needs to come down sooner rather than later.

“When I ran for mayor, I said I was going to get something done one way or the other,” he said. “From exploring all the options with developers, the amount of money it would take to redevelop that into something useful would be tremendous. You’d never make your money back. The shape of the building now is to the point where it needs to come down.”

The demolition would save first responders valuable time and resources, as well.

“I don’t like our police and fire having to go through it whenever somebody reports that somebody has broken in there. They have to literally search floor to floor, room to room, and they have to wear hazmat suits and respirators,” Louderman said. “I can’t have that anymore, so it needs to come down. That’s what the council unanimously approved, and that’s how we’re moving forward.”

Louderman said if someone was to put something else in the building’s place, the city could still commemorate the site.

“If we decided to put a park there, we could put a plaque or monument that says, ‘This park is the historic site of St. Elizabeth Hospital,’” Louderman said. “They’ll let us know about that the further we get into the process.”

The council also approved for the city to get an appraisal for the value of the Hannibal Lakeside Technology Park and express its intent to sell the property.

“It’s sat there for 30 years, and nothing has been done with it,” Louderman said. “We really had no great interest as far as somebody wanting to build a factory or anything on it. That’s really not going to happen until (Highway) 36 is renamed Interstate 72. It’s time to cut it loose and let somebody develop it. If they want to put a subdivision on it, if somebody wants to build something else on it, that’s up to them.”

The city council also approved a resolution authorizing Louderman to execute a $5,000 engineering service agreement between the city and Hutchinson Engineering for an analysis report of the James Road Bridge, as well as a cost estimate to replace the bridge.

The bridge was constructed in 1934 and could soon have a weight restriction placed on it. Director of Central Services Andy Dorian noted the bridge doesn’t need to be replaced right now, but with potential costs to replace the bridge reaching upwards of $500,000, Dorian wants to get a jumpstart on this process.

“We need to get a plan in place for when it is time to replace that bridge,” he said. “It’s not one of those things that has to be replaced tomorrow, but the time is coming. I’d rather be ahead of the game than chasing our tails at the end.”

In other business, the council:

• Approved street closures for Hannibal High School’s 75th annual Band Day Parade, which will take place Sept. 21 from 3 to 5 pm.
• Approved street closures for the Historic Hannibal Marketing Council’s Living Dead Windows (Oct. 26), Trunk-n-Treat (Oct. 31) and Christmas Living Windows (Dec. 14).
• Set a public hearing for the rezoning of 523 Warren Barrett Drive for 6:45 p.m. Sept. 17.