Air Force To Pay For Westover Demolition Project

Bob Joseph/WNBF News [file][/caption]

Bob Joseph/WNBF News [file][/caption]A contract for the demolition of a flood-wrecked Air Force plant in the town of Union could be awarded in the next two weeks.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer says work on tearing down the facility at 600 Main Street in Westover could start shortly after the contract has been awarded.

The 600,000-square-foot complex had been home to BAE Systems for several years before it was rendered useless by the September 2011 flood. The plant had been built 70 years earlier.

Bob Joseph/WNBF News [March 24, 2014][/caption]BAE Systems moved its local operations to the site of the former IBM Endicott complex after the company determined repairs at the Westover facility were not feasible.

Broome County security division officers have been assigned to guard the abandoned property to keep intruders from entering the empty building.

An environmental assessment of the town of Union site has been completed by the Army Corps of Engineers, clearing the way for the demolition work.

Officials in the town of Union have been discussing future uses for the 27-acre site. They've given no indication as to what they expect will happen to the property or when any decisions will be made.