Demolition of Madonna Hall Begins

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Work has begun on the demolition of a nearly 50-year-old building in Ferdinand. Crews are deconstructing the five-story, 105,000 square-foot Madonna Hall, which previously served as a residence hall for the former Marian Heights Academy.

The building has been vacant since 2000, when the Sisters of St. Benedict of Ferdinand closed the girls’ boarding school. The sisters announced in August the building would be demolished after several attempts to repurpose it. 

"For 16 years, our community and various consultants have unsuccessfully tried to repurpose Madonna Hall, to find an entity that could use it for a ministry or a business," Sister Barbara Lynn Schmitz said in August. "But interested parties have deemed it too large for the population of this area, plus it does not meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and it would require an incredible amount of renovation expense."

The sisters say the demolition will allow the Benedictine community to create a closer entrance to the church and invest more into ministries.