Chunks of concrete and construction debris can be seen piling up outside the shuttered Air Force hospital tower, Wilford Hall Medical Center.
The planned demolition of the 1940s-era hospital at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland that began in 2018 is ongoing and visible to passersby on Highway 90 West.
But the work will continue for at least another two years, said a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers, which is overseeing the project.
That’s because “Big Willie,” as it’s known to many, is coming down floor by floor.
“It’s a phased project and we’re about 80% complete at this point,” said Randy Cephus, deputy public affairs officer for the Army Corps of Engineers, based in Fort Worth.
Demolition was expected to be complete by 2021, after the project was awarded to M&M Contracting in 2014. But delays came about due to the asbestos abatement work that is needed, Cephus said.
Abatement is occurring in conjunction with demolition, he said. “They’re just basically knocking down walls, taking down boards, jackhammering, so it’s a very cumbersome process.”
A dramatic implosion using explosives is not planned due to the close proximity of other structures, he added.
Built in 1957 as a hospital to care for soldiers, sailors and airmen returning from the Korean War, Wilford Hall grew to become a 1,200-bed facility with 1.5 million square feet that served thousands of servicemen and women and their families over the years.
The facility is named for Air Force physician, Maj. Gen. Wilford F. Hall, a pioneer in aeromedical evacuation.
In 2011, the hospital’s trauma center was moved to Brooke Army Medical Center at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston in a consolidation effort prompted by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Act.
In 2017, Wilford Hall’s clinics and other services were relocated to the new Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center (WHASC) built nearby at a cost of $418 million.
That facility serves about 255,000 beneficiaries, said Brian Valencia, public affairs officer for the 59th Medical Wing.
The WHASC building sits in the shadow of the Wilford Hall tower and has four wings on four floors, housing more than 25 outpatient clinics and clinical services, plus a parking garage.
“We’re the Department of Defense’s largest outpatient ambulatory surgical center,” Valencia said.
When the 59th Medical Wing posted to its Facebook page in 2019 a few vintage photos of the hospital and announced demolition plans, several veterans and others commented with memories of working in the hospital, getting critical training and witnessing the births of babies and the deaths of loved ones.
One called it an icon of military medicine.
After the demolition is completed, a redevelopment plan calls for additional parking lots and 25 acres of green space with a mile of walking and jogging trails.
