Demolition Slated To Begin Monday For Queen of Peace High School

BURBANK, IL — The wrecking ball is set to swing Monday at the former Queen of Peace High School building in Burbank. Demolition of the building that for 55 years educated young women in the southwest suburbs will make way for a state-of-the-art special education facility. The Catholic high school for girls closed at the end of 2017.

AERO Special Education Cooperative purchased the 13-acre property, including the Queen of Peace building, from the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters for $13.2 million in 2018. The cooperative has provided special education services since 1963 to students from 11 member public school districts in the southwest suburbs, encompassing Argo, Evergreen Park, Reavis and Oak Lawn.

AERO executive director James W. Gunnell, Ed.D., the cooperative said the cost of bringing the existing 1960s-era school building up to code was cost prohibitive.

“[T]he existing buildings cannot be renovated to meet the vast physical needs of AERO students,” Gunnell announced on Facebook. “AERO intends to build a new special education facility which will allow us to enhance the services that we deliver to the most vulnerable students in our communities.”

AERO administrators will be working closely with their architect and contractors to keep any disruption to the neighborhood at a minimum. Demolition is expected to continue through April.

“The highest priority for [AERO] as we proceed through the demolition phase of this project,” Gunnell said.

Queen of Peace was established by the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters in 1962 and graduated more than 15,000 young women. The high school announced in 2017 that it would be closing due to declining enrollment that could not keep pace with financial realities.