Warren's old St. Joe's Hospital is one step closer to its future demolition after Thursday night's Warren City Council meeting.

First ward councilman Reverand Todd Johnson said fences will be up around the site by the end of the month.

Crews will begin to remove asbestos from the old hospital on July 5.

The asbestos removal is expected to take about two months to fully remediate the property.

Johnson said they will be setting up air monitoring sensors to make sure the asbestos removal process is safe for the surrounding community.

"The residents are rightfully concerned with this abatement, that something could escape into the air. We want them to be assured that the process and protocols that go into this will make sure nothing gets out," Councilman Johnson said.

The actual demolition of the hospital building is slated for 2023.

The former hospital has been closed since June 1996 after a merger with Mercy Health.