Six-story former Memorial Hospital tower to come down

Demolition of the old six-story Memorial Hospital tower near the corner of North Main and Anglin streets is set to begin within a week, according to the Cleburne Wire's source reporting on the project. Property owner Tom Crew confirmed the timeline, and City Secretary Ivy Peterson said a demolition permit has been issued. Crew said crews will use heavy excavating equipment fitted with a large shear attachment to cut the structure apart piece by piece — not an implosion. The process is expected to take about three weeks, after which the site will be cleared. The building opened July 4, 1948, as Johnson County Memorial Hospital, funded by a $300,000 county bond. It eventually grew to 224 beds before closing after Harris Methodist Health System opened a newer facility. Crew bought the property in 1999 and spent more than two decades pursuing redevelopment plans that never came together. He has already sold just over an acre of the roughly 5.25-acre site to an undisclosed buyer and plans to sell the remaining four acres for commercial use.