Mike Wolanin | The Republic A view of the former Sears building now owned by Cummins in downtown Columbus, Ind., Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024.
The Columbus Redevelopment Commission will consider acquiring The Cummins Sears office building, potentially for a proposed hotel conference center in the city’s downtown, at a meeting Monday.
Cummins Inc. announced its intention to sell the Sears building and the Irwin Office Building and Conference Center at the end of last month, “to offer the ideal work environment for our employees and align with the workspace needed,” the company said.
Both buildings have been vacant since the pandemic struck, and no employees have worked in either since October of 2022.
The 91,380 square-foot building, located at 323 Brown St., had been the anchor of The Commons since the former mall opened in 1973. Cummins bought the building for $3 million in 2015, county records show.
City Development Director Heather Pope previously told The Republic that the city submitted a letter of interest for the building and that the site could be a better option for the proposed hotel conference center rather than the currently proposed site, located in the block surrounded by Second, Franklin, Third, and Lafayette Streets.
“Generally, we all agreed that (the Cummins Sears office) would probably be a better location,” Pope said.
The redevelopment commission could authorize city officials to negotiate a sale price with Cummins to purchase the property, but the Columbus City Council would likely still have to sign off on it because the commission is required to get the council’s approval for any expenditure more than $500,000.
Pope had said the city is interested in the property because it is centrally located and offers the chance to extend the city’s entertainment corridor along Fourth Street.
