A vacant former downtown hospital is no longer for sale.
The original St. Mary’s Hospital and most recently St. Mary’s Square Living Center located at 239 S. Cherry Street had been on the market since last fall with an asking price of $2.2 million. However, according to the online listing, the property is “no longer for sale.”
The property most recently sold for $507,677 on Nov. 19, 2021.
Steve Gugliotta, director of Community Development for the City of Galesburg, tells WGIL his department has been in contact with the listing real estate agent who acknowledged pulling it off the market.
“The Realtor indicated there were communication issues with the owner,” Gugliotta said.
Gugliotta also said the owner has not responded to the city.
On Dec. 4, the Galesburg City Council voted 7-0 to move forward with the demolition process on the property. Demolition costs are estimated to be $750,000 to $1 million.
According to city administration, the property has seen a significant increase in criminal activity over the last year. Large sections of copper pipe have been removed by trespassers, and Galesburg Police have responded to numerous calls to the property and have made multiple arrests.
There has been no water service to the property since August of 2014. There are several upper story openings that allow weather infiltration, the building has five feet of standing water in the basement due to nonfunctioning sump pumps, large pieces of limestone façade are coming loose and falling off.
After an inspection of the property the city building Inspector sent the required 15-day notification to the listed owner of the property requesting compliance.
Kartrina Zhong, who oversees KXZ Properties LLC of Provo, Utah, is the owner of the property. She had presented an ambitious plan that would have brought a multi-million dollar development featuring office space, residential units and even a rooftop restaurant to a blighted downtown Galesburg property.
WGIL also has made numerous failed attempts to contact Zhong during the past year.
The property was the former longtime and original site of St. Mary’s Hospital, which traces its roots to 1909. St. Mary’s Square Living Center opened in September 1977 as a for-profit business and transitioned to a not-for-profit operation in 1979.
