City buys derelict building: Officials hope to rebuild crumbling wall on Main Street
MORRISON – After nearly a year of legal wrangling and hard feelings, the city has a $360,000 plan to restore the rubble at 101 E. Main St.
The city on Monday bought for $1 what’s left of the nearly collapsed 3-story brick building at the same address, which makes Morrison residents the stewards of a 100-year-old derelict property that some believe to be worth more demolished than restored.
Since portions of the east wall slid to the ground last month, the city now will have to act fast in its restoration efforts, or the historic structure will be lost forever, said City Administrator Tim Long.
“The clock is running, and the sooner we get started on this, the better. ... We absolutely have to be done by fall,” he said. “Exposure to the elements is our biggest obstacle now.”
The council unanimously agreed to the purchase because the members believe restoration will help satisfy their goal of turning Main Street into a tourist destination through the creation of a historic district. The building is one of about 50 that development experts believe may qualify for national recognition.
In support of that goal, the city has agreed to work with preservation consultants Peoples Economic Development Corporation, whose representatives pledged to help achieve federal recognition as a national historic district through the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Several other cities in the region, including Oregon and Dixon, are working with Peoples for historic preservation.
Peoples recently secured $425,000 from the state’s Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, most of which the council now has slated to rebuild the collapsed eastern wall.
The initial estimate from Princeton-based general contractors Key Builders, Inc. will cost $360,000 to make the building safe for occupancy. The estimate is preliminary and does not include interior work, Long cautioned.
Mayor Roger Drey said he would like to see the building sold once the city brings it up to scratch.
“Ultimately, I’d like to sell it,” Drey said. “But in the mean time, we’ll do what we can to get tenants in there.”
The building, itself, has a long way to go before anyone can move in.
A mass of metal tubing is sandwiched between each floor to support the building’s exposed wooden beams. The scaffolding and the original framework are visible from the street.
The city has spent nearly a year fighting to save the building from almost-certain demolition. The city filed for emergency authority to shore up the building then bill its owner for the work.
The building’s former owners, Kenneth and Vivian Tenboer, fought that petition for nearly 6 months, but have since paid the city $49,500 to cover the initial clean-up costs from last month’s collapse.
