After numerous reviews and opinions from those in the construction and healthcare world, the answer to what could be the new life for the former Cigna property in Bourbonnais came back to the same answer.

The property was dormant for too long – about 10 years – and the problems were too costly to unravel.

Thus, said Patt Vilt, a Riverside senior vice president and chief financial officer, the conclusion was to demolish the Bourbonnais structure, which sits on 18.8 acres along U.S. Route 45-52 at St. George Road.

The 155,000-square-foot building, which had been home to Cigna, a health insurance company, from 2000-15, will be demolished this summer.

Riverside has applied for a demolition permit, and the work is anticipated to happen this summer. Vilt believes the clearing of the site will take about one month. The timing of the demolition has not been finalized.

The final demolition cost has not been determined.

The timeline for what may become of the site is a little more tentative. Vilt said the goal is to have what the site will become at least partially determined before the calendar flips to 2027.

Vilt said addressing the building’s condition had been the focus since gaining its possession in June 2025.

Now that Riverside leadership has determined that salvaging the structure is no longer feasible, the wheels are in motion for what the site’s new life will be.

Despite this setback, Vilt said Riverside remains very appreciative of the donation, as the site resides near several of the hospital’s key developments in recent years.

“We did have hope to repurpose it in its existing structure, but sitting idle for 10 years is a long time,” she said. She noted the property has plumbing, electrical, water leakage and mold issues.

She said that looking at the building from the outside gives people the impression it is ready for use, but that is far from the case.

“At the end of the day, it’s not worth the investment. We will take a different approach.”

Despite the cost of demolition, designing and building a new structure, Vilt said the site’s positive features outweigh the negative.

“It’s a great location. It’s adjacent to our Bourbonnais campus, and it’s close to the interstate,” she said, noting that those positive factors do not change regardless of this new approach.

“A lot of time and energy were spent on the old building. Now our focus is on the removal of the building and what it can become,” she said. “Our focus now is the next step.”

It is extremely unlikely the site will have a functioning building in 2027. Healthcare structures go through rigorous planning and review processes.

Before its donation to Riverside, the property had been owned by BHCP of Bourbonnais LLC, of Encino, California, an offshoot of Hager Pacific Properties of Encino, since 2006.

The company had been marketing the property since Cigna announced its plans to pull out of the space.

The company had tried numerous ways to promote interest in the property, but was unsuccessful in finding a buyer.

Cigna once had a 1,200-person workforce at the site, but moved many of its call center employees to work from their homes, which ended its need for the office space.