July 20, 2009, a fire of unknown origin broke out in the entrance to Block C during the late afternoon. The fire damaged the Block C entrance to the point where its roof collapsed within a month, and left scorch marks on the exterior of the former JCPenney building. Demolition plans resume In February 2010, it was reported that Chicago-based developer MG Development South LLC was planning to demolish the remains of the mall and replace it with a mixture of big-box stores and other retail on the site. Governor Pat Quinn announced on September 23, 2010, that a $4 million federal grant would be used to demolish the mall. Quinn also stated that the total cost would be around $5 million, with the remainder of the money coming from federal disaster recovery funds given to the state due to flooding in 2008. According to officials, demolition was to start in November of that year and take four to six months. In June 2011, ruins of the mall remained standing with demolition funding still available, but with the demolition project itself mired in government regulatory hurdles. Final demolition In January 2012, contractors were finally issued the necessary permits to begin demolition. After several weeks of asbestos abatement, which was completed by early February, crews began to demolish the mall on Wednesday, February 15. Demolition was completed May 17, 2012, after which the site was cleaned up and leveled in preparation for future development. The vast majority of the former site is now brownfield land. A November 2015 article suggested that the land be developed as an intermodal freight site. The city of Harvey obtained possession of the former mall site in 2016. As of 2020, Harvey was preparing the site to offer to developers and officials were putting the site forward as a good location for a cold storage warehouse. References Further reading External links Deadmalls.com: Dixie Square Mall at DeadMalls.com 1966 establishments in Illinois 1978 disestablishments in Illinois The Blues Brothers Buildings and structures demolished in 2012 Demolished buildings and structures in Illinois Demolished shopping malls in the United States Harvey, Illinois Shopping malls established in 1966 Shopping malls disestablished in 1978 Shopping malls in Cook County, Illinois Urban decay in the United States