Work to remove asbestos and demolish the dozens of buildings on the grounds of the long-vacant Tinley Park Mental Health Center could get started by the end of the month, according to the Tinley Park-Park District.

The district recently approved bids for two big components related to clearing the 280-acre site, northwest of Harlem Avenue and 183rd Street, property it wants to redevelop for recreational purposes that it paid $1 to the state to acquire.

With the awarding of contracts for asbestos removal and demolition, along with a separate company to monitor air quality during the work, the Park District is using nearly all of the $15 million earmarked by Illinois to prepare the property for redevelopment.

The Park District said it will request additional state money to complete full demolition of structures, plus the soil sampling that will be needed as part of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s site remediation program.

The ultimate goal is to get the property in a condition where the IEPA says that no further remediation is needed.

The Park District hired Renee Cipriano, former director of the state agency, to help it navigate that process.

The Park Board approved a bid from Omega III for asbestos removal and demolition of 45 buildings on the grounds, starting with some of the largest and most recognizable structures closer to Harlem Avenue and 183rd Street.

The district is also working to approve a contract with Shawn Brown Enterprises, for about $57,000, to monitor air quality while asbestos removal and demolition is underway.

Omega will move equipment onto the site Monday, and applied to Cook County for needed permits, which are expected to take about two weeks, according to Burt Odelson, an attorney for the Park District.

Odelson said Omega and the Park District are hopeful all asbestos removal and demolition can be accomplished within 10 months.

Omega’s bid for asbestos removal and taking down buildings is a little more than $19 million — the company was among five bidders for the work — but the Park District still needs to finalize the contract, Odelson said.

That will involve refining the scope of the work to be done, and Odelson said district officials are hopeful the final cost will be $13 million to $14 million.

Of the $15 million allocated by the state, a little more than $14 million is left. Odelson noted the Park District spent money clearing overgrowth on the property, erecting fences and for legal and other services.

Beyond removing buildings, the Park District might need to do other environmental remediation beyond taking out asbestos. Soil testing once the site is cleared could drive the cost past what will be left in the budget.

Funding for cleanup and environmental remediation was based on a 2014 cost estimate of $14 million, made when the village of Tinley Park was proposing to buy the property. While rising costs since that decade-old assessment seemed to make the number low, Park District officials had thought the $15 million would be enough.

The district, in announcing the recent bids Tuesday, said “the continued degradation of the abandoned buildings and structures on site,” had determined the estimate is too low.

That will require a request additional state funding to complete full demolition of all buildings and structures, and the soil sampling work.

“The Park District intends to take the next steps of the cleanup process in phases to ensure as much cleanup work as the current state funding can provide will continue at the site, while the Park District works with its partners at the state level to secure additional funding to complete the cleanup,” the district said.

Odelson said initial asbestos removal and demolition will start on property nearest Harlem Avenue and 183rd, including the large, round Spruce Hall, which included the medical center, and the large administration fronting 183rd.

Spruce Hall had been pressed into service to house evacuees from Hurricane Katrina, serving as dormitory and general living space.

Maple Hall, a tall building between Spruce Hall and the administration center, is also targeted among the first structures slated to come down.

Elgin-based Omega has been involved with projects including for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, the city of Chicago, and Crete-Monee Unit School District 201.