NORMAL - Work appears to have stopped on the 500,000-square-foot Wildwood Industries building under construction at the southeast corner of Main Street and Kerrick Road.

"The reports I've gotten is there has been no work activity on the site today (Friday) or for the past few days," said City Manager Mark Peterson.

Calls to general contractor Bill Johnston of Johnston Contractors and Gary Wilder, president and chief executive officer of Wildwood, were not returned Thursday or Friday.

Work also stopped at the site in July when a 33-year-old ironworker was killed in a job-related accident.

Joshua Dawe of Topeka was in the basket of an aerial lift when a crawler crane's boom, used to set girders and joists, collapsed onto the basket.

Dawe was killed instantly. His family is seeking more than $50,000 in damages in a wrongful death lawsuit against Johnston Contractors. A case management conference in the lawsuit is scheduled for Nov. 7.

Nick Walters, area director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration office said Friday that the accident still is under investigation. Walters said OSHA is required by state statute to conclude the investigation within six months.

He did not have a timetable and would not discuss the case.

Wilder said at the time the collapse was not expected to cause a significant construction delay. The project was slated to be completed Oct. 1 but had already been delayed four or five weeks because of weather, including an April wind storm that knocked down part of a concrete wall.

The accident only stopped work on the day it occurred. Workers were back on site the following day.

Wilder received City Council approval for the project in April 2007. The plans call for a two-phased project, each bringing a 500,000-square-foot building.

The first phase of the project was expected to cost $23 million; both phases, $45 million.

The new facility was expected to add 190 jobs in the Twin Cities.

Normal, Bloomington and McLean County also approved extending the enterprise zone to the area so Wilder could take advantage of sales tax benefits offered for construction materials purchased within Illinois.

The move was expected to save Wilder $552,000 in sales tax money on the first phase and $1.08 million total on both phases.

Wildwood is headquartered at 903 Morrissey Drive, Bloomington. According to its Web site, the company started production of Triton brand vacuum cleaners sold by independent dealers in 2003.

The company also makes vacuum cleaner bags, carpet and upholstery cleaner and steam cleaning machines.

The new building under construction in north Normal was expected to mainly operate as a logistics center, including processing parts.