Demolition Begins on Former WINGS Building

 It's been more than 10 years since the former WINGS Resale Shop opened its doors at the corner of Northwest Highway and Rohlwing Road. Now, only portions of the building remain as demolition is underway after a devastating fire in June.

"Everybody is really torn about the old building coming down, because it is an end of an era for us," said Rebecca Darr, executive director of WINGS.

"It's ironic, because I just ran into a woman who helped me open that store on the tenth anniversary of our ribbon cutting ceremony, which was Nov. 4, 2000," said Darr. 

"That was the only ribbon cutting that I ever missed, because I gave birth to my twins two days before," Darr said.

But, it also is a new beginning for WINGS. The mission of WINGS is to end domestic violence and homelessness in the many communities it serves.

Darr said a capital campaign will soon begin, as the organization is working with realtors to find a new and permanent location. 

Currently, a temporary resale store is located in the Park Place Shopping Center, located at 1315 N. Rand Road.

"Our goal is to buy a property outright, because then we won't have to pour money into property taxes that could go directly to domestic violence victims," Darr said. 

Non-profit organizations in Illinois are exempt from paying property taxes.

Darr said that could allow as much as $100,000 more to go directly to the clients that WINGS serves.

Wings likely will not be rebuilding at its former location. 

"The WINGS board hasn't made any decisions regarding that yet, but it seems to be the direction we are going," said Darr.

"We need around 10,000 square feet for our new location, and the former property would not accommodate that. We would also like our permanent location to be in a high traffic, high retail area," Darr said.

Residents had voiced concerns over how long the structure sat unmoved after the fire. Darr said the demolition took as long as it did, because there were many steps that had to be taken first.

"We have been breaking our necks to get this (demolition) taken care of, but we had to get permits from Cook County and had to wait for Nicor to disconnect services," Darr said.

For more information on Wings, visit their website at www.wingsprogram.com.