Politics & Government
Saying Goodbye to Tinley Ice is a Dream for Some, Nightmare for Others
Demolition crews are working by hand to take the former ice factory's roof apart. The entire building will take up to two weeks to disassemble, officials said.
Demolition of the could take as long as two weeks to complete. While some nostalgic residents are sad to see it go, others desribe it as an eyesore that couldn’t be dismantled fast enough.
“I’m damn happy to see it go,” said Norman Elftmann, who owns Cavallini’s Café and Banquets, located inside the Oak Park Avenue Metra Train Station. “It’s pretty ugly for the middle of downtown. It doesn’t look very historical. It looks very unkempt.”
Navigating a stream of expletives, Elftmann explained that people don’t want to hold parties in his café because it overlooks several dilapidated structures, including the former ice factory and several boarded-up homes. However, he joked, “On Halloween they don’t look so bad.”
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Other commuters and café customers agreed, including Barbara LaRocco, a resident of who believes would be beneficial.
“It’ll bring a lot of people into the area and stay in the area,” she said.
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Chris Neubauer, who grew up in Tinley Park and lives now in Florida, was among the voice of dissent, although she admitted as she watched the demolition that what the village has planned in place of Tinley Ice might be worth it.
“Change is good,” she said. “It’s closed, it’s not productive anymore. I guess it is time to move on. But it is sad.”
On Wednesday morning, demolition crews were pulling up roof materials and tossing freezer installation over the side. Jim Burgeson, superintendent of the Avalon Construction Group, said it would take another day or two before the roof was gone and the walls were ready to come down. They’re made mostly of panels that can be disassembled without a wrecking ball.
“It’s time for it to come down, and that’s what we’re doing,” Pat Teehan said as she watched crewman tear apart the roof. “We can’t get a renter for it and the taxes are just so ridiculously high.”
Teehan and her husband own several pieces of property in the 6700 block of North Street, including a liquor store, pub and home that was demolished earlier this week, she said.
At least one of the other homes on the block is vacant. The village has offered to demolish the rest of them all , like they did with Tinley Ice, but it has made no formal plans.
It’s still too early to say whether the demolition of Tinley Ice will put momentum into the village’s downtown plans.
“Time will tell,” Teehan said. “This is a long tedious process. It’s been in the works for quite a while and it’s just finally getting done.”
