Last November, residents of the New York State Veterans’ Home in Oxford moved from the 1970s era building they’d called home for nearly four decades, into the newly-constructed 220,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility next door. Since that moment, when the last resident was tucked into their new room, the “old” Vets’ Home has had a wrecking ball looming over its proverbial head.

Of course, the specter of demolition has been looming for much longer than that. It was, apparently, always part of the state’s plan. They went through the motions, of course, scratching the surface of alternative uses. But the reality is, that from the moment the first site plan was drawn up, they had always intended to demolish the structure. Or at least that’s what I was told by Karen Cally, health program administrator from the New York State Department of Health.

For as long as New York State has been planning to tear it down, a small group of dedicated community members – like Oxford Mayor Terry Stark, Dave Emerson and Commerce Chenango President Maureen Carpenter – have been fighting for its preservation. Not because of any historical significance, per se, but out of a desire to see the building repurposed and productive, rather than become yet another symbol of the wastefulness of our increasingly disposable society.

They identified several potential uses for the building. One idea – that of creating a rehabilitation and job-skills training center for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan at the location – seemed the most promising. Unfortunately, there were questions about the credibility of the individual who presented the idea, which soured the project. Other ideas have floated too, but none garnering enough support on the state level to make them fly.

There was a general perception, I think, that there was time to further investigate options for the facility. The general consensus being that as long as New York’s financial situation remained dire, and no state budget in sight, that there wasn’t money to demolish the structure.

But on Monday, we learned that wasn’t the case. Money had been found, and the bidding process had begun.

The announcement prompted a new wave of public outcry. Both from proponents of saving the structure, and those calling for its demolition. As well as those saying the new building should never have been constructed.