The initial work to demolish the Matty Hersee Hospital has begun and work is expected to be completed by the end of May.

    Prep work began Nov. 28, 2014 to demolish the historic Matty Hersee Hospital/School of Nursing.

    Virginia Wrecking Company has been awarded the contract to tear down the building constructed in 1923 after it was commissioned as one of a group of state-owned charity hospitals. Demolition work is expected to wrap up at the end of May.

    Meridian Community College acquired the Matty Hersee property, which consists of the hospital building and an adjacent 120-bed dormitory, from the State Board of Mental Health in October 2006 at a cost of $1.6 million.

    Brad Carter, demolition project engineer, said he has some history with the building.

    “Back in the ’80s I worked on the building,” Carter said. “I built the stairwells at the end that would allow the surgery rooms to be on the fourth floor. It was also designed to provide an escape should there be a fire.”

    Carter said although he has some sentimental feelings about the historic building, he said it needs to come down for safety reasons.

    “As an architectural engineer, I’m a preserver. I try to preserve everything I can,” Carter said. “I don’t even cut down a tree if I don’t have to, but as a scientist I understand that if I don’t cut something down now and again, I’m in trouble. The building is depreciated to the extent that there was a need for something to be done to it.”

    Carter said the building constructed mostly of wood was overrun by termites and that it has deteriorated to the point that there likely won’t be much left to use as salvage once the building is torn down.

    Even steel reinforcements used to preserve some historic buildings would likely not be possible on Matty Hersee, Carter said.

    “The space and the expense would be prohibitive from the standpoint of what would have had to occur for that to happen.” Carter explained.

    MCC President Dr. Scott Elliott said once demolition is complete the space will be used in some form in the future, but what that use will be has not yet been decided.

    “I believe it will ultimately be utilized to support something programmatic in the college’s curriculum – such as a comprehensive allied health center,” Elliott wrote in an email. “That would be a long-term goal. As far as a short-term, more temporal use, I could see the college developing something like a walking trail to bolster our employee and student wellness efforts. It’s a beautiful piece of property with some gorgeous trees, so a short-term project of that nature might make sense. Any long-term project is going to involve a considerable financial investment for the college, and we already have several large capital improvements projects in progress. So, it’s entirely possible that a permanent use for the property won’t be brought to fruition during my tenure as MCC president.”

    Elliott said MCC’s campus, on the west side of Highway 19, is essentially built out.

    “That’s why we acquired the Matty Hersee property in the first place back in 2006,” Elliott wrote. “It was a unique opportunity to purchase land that would provide for the future development of the college. I’m sure it has been noticed that we have made an effort over the past few years to develop sites on the east side of Highway 19 to include the Tommy E. Dulaney Multi-Purpose Center, the Rush School of Practical Nursing, the Ralph Young Adult Basic Education Center, and the Eagle Hall dormitory. By late spring/early summer, I expect us to finish the next east campus project – the renovation of the old Highway Patrol building to house our Health Care Assistant and Medical Assisting programs.”

    Matty Hersee Hospital was originally organized in 1892 and was located at 2314 Poplar Springs Drive in Meridian before the new building was constructed.