The long process to clean up the former Jaffe Drugs building at 217 E. Court St. in downtown Kankakee continues, and it’s getting closer to being put on the market.

The Kankakee Regional Land Bank Authority unanimously approved a bid by Junk Bunker, of Frankfort, to clear and haul the junk from the basement and the first floor of the building. Junk Bunker’s bid of $3,200 was one of four bids the Land Bank received to do the work.

The other bids were from Midwest Environmental Consulting Services, of Yorkville, for $2,875 plus $1,500 per day for labor, Big Country Clean Up and Restoration, of Kankakee, for $4,140 and one from Trunk A Junk, of Bourbonnais, which didn’t meet all the requirements needed for the job.

“It’s another expense,” said board member Matt Olszewski.

The Land Bank has already spent thousands of dollars in the past few months to get the building ready for the real estate market. There was facade work done by PSI Construction of Kankakee for $10,221. Valor Technologies of Bolingbrook completed asbestos removal within the boiler room for $9,500.

The biggest expense is the removal of the leftover pharmaceuticals, which has been awarded to Midwest Environmental for $62,700. That will be completed after the junk removal is done.

That cost is being shared by the Kankakee Development Corp. for $10,000; $15,000 from a Community Development Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; $25,000 from the downtown tax increment financing district; and the city of Kankakee kicked in the remaining $12,700 from its general fund.

Land Bank Executive Director the Rev. Montele Crawford said the junk removal will begin the first of this coming week. The work will take one to two days.

“We’re working out the details now,” he said.

Midwest Environmental estimated a timeframe of 10 days to two weeks to remove the pharmaceuticals.