SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - It has been more than three years since the non-profit group Moving Pillsbury Forward acquired the 18-acre Pillsbury Mills site. Since then, the group has been working to secure funding and ensure the grounds are safe. They were able to do just that, and now demolition is set to start this month.
"Demolition should start by the end of the month with all the larger structures at the site," said Moving Pillsbury Forward President Chris Richmond. "The silos will be the last ones to go, but all the structures should be cleared from the Pillsbury site by the end of March 2026."Â
The demolition will include 160 silos and 500,000 square feet of buildings. The silos were originally built with a capacity of 3,000,000 bushels of wheat each.Â
Richmond said most of the buildings contained large amounts of asbestos, which they had to remove before demolition. This is being done to protect all the people living nearby.Â
"We literally have neighbors that live just 100 yards across the street, so we want to be very careful about how we remove all the asbestos from the site and get it cleaned up," Richmond said. "We do air monitoring here at the site to make sure that there's no harm being done to the community. So that's taken a little extra time. But we know it's worthwhile."Â
From the beginning, Moving Pillsbury Forward has prioritized preserving history. The organization just released a 130-page report on the history of the site in the state and the Lincoln Library. This will also include 250 pictures of the buildings before they are demolished.Â
Many neighbors have stopped by the site to express excitement about the work that is about to begin.Â
"One woman walking by said it's been a part of her whole life," Richmond said. "She knows it's past time that something happened here, in a positive way."Â
Ahead of the demolition, Moving Pillsbury Forward has set up a viewing area on the west side of 15th Street. Â
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