When Forest Park police delivered the official notice of condemnation to 7200 Madison St. on Feb. 6, the village put demolition plans on hold to let the owner make any necessary repairs. But in the five months since, barely any progress has been made.
On June 18, Steve Glinke, Forest Park’s health and safety director, told the Review the village is ticketing the building owner regularly for multiple violations. He said the building’s owner has reportedly engaged an architect, but the village is waiting on restoration drawings.
Glinke later told the Review on June 26 that his office was “working with ownership to restore the damaged roof.”
When Forest Park police visited USA Beverage Company — the retail tenant on the first floor — to deliver an official notice of condemnation for the property and business, the cashier working at the time made a call to the property owner. The owner arrived to sign the condemnation notice. Employees and residents of the apartment upstairs were evacuated, and the fire department secured the building with padlocks.
In January, the Review obtained records of an inspection of the building that revealed the fire alarm system and many of the smoke detectors were disabled due to water damage, the exterior exits were blocked with materials, and there was defective or exposed electrical wiring, and holes in the ceilings, floors and walls.
According to the inspector, the building wasn’t structurally sound enough to be approved for occupancy.
This wasn’t the first time the owners were given a warning over the stability of the building. In 2017, the village gave the building’s previous owner a long list of violations. While many repairs were completed, the previous owner never replaced the roof or fixtures on the top floor, and multiple areas of the exterior need brick and mortar repair.Â
Rachell Entler, Forest Park village administrator, told the Review in February that for the building to be cleared of its condemnation status, the owner needed to guarantee the building was structurally sound.
Jessica Mordacq contributed to the reporting of this story.
Emma Bradford is an intern for NEWSWELL CHICAGO through Report for America’s Local News Internship Program.