In North Waco, Texas, neighbors of a vacant former school campus are looking forward to seeing the facility transformed into a day care center. The school facility will be re-opened in the fall of 2010 as a day care for use by employees of the local school system.

“It’s a positive influence, and it’s going to be good traffic,” said James Mitchell, president of the North Waco Community Association.

It is hoped that by offering a high-quality day care center for employees’ children, the school will be able to attract a higher caliber of educator. The day care center will be open to the children of teachers, as well as other school workers. While the center will not be free, costs are estimated to be low and affordable. The Waco Independent School District paid $355,000 for the former Parkview school campus.

However, at first, the district had hoped to repurpose another property: a former building once owned by Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center. However, the Parkview property proved to be a more economical purchase. While the Hillcrest building would have cost the Waco school district $165,000 less than the Parkview property, removing the asbestos from Hillcrest would have been cost-prohibitive. Renovations, including asbestos abatement, would have amounted to about $700,000 more than the work to be done at Parkview.

Asbestos abatement is often very costly due to the stringent procedures in place that regulate how the material is handled and disposed of. Exposure to asbestos has long been linked to the development of mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the abdominal cavity’s organs and tissues.

Many aging buildings are placed for sale but are not purchased due to the fact that removing and replacing asbestos products is so expensive. Abatement of these materials is required under federal and state law, and while most buyers are made aware of the fact that a property contains asbestos, some are not.

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