COLUMBUS, Ind. — A building with more than 100 years of history in downtown Columbus is coming down to make way for a new chapter.
Demolition of the former Bartholomew County court services building at 507 Third St. began Monday. The Columbus Redevelopment Commission has engaged Renascent, Inc for the work, which is the latest step in the city’s plan to build a hotel and conference center on the block surrounded by Second, Franklin, Third and Lafayette streets.
“We’re just excited to see something happening on site,” said Redevelopment Director Heather Pope. “We’ve been talking about it for so long.”
According to Anthony Larsen with Renascent, demolition is expected to take about three weeks. Pope said that once demolition is finished, the property will become a gravel parking lot that county employees can use until construction starts.
The redevelopment commission acquired the former court services building and the surrounding downtown block through a property-swap agreement with Bartholomew County.
The commission purchased property at 555 First St., demolished an existing structure, and contributed $1.5 million to the construction of the new Bartholomew County court services building at the site. The county picked up the remainder of the cost, which was approximately $2 million.
Under the deal, the county received the new court services building and a small parking lot. In return, the city received the county-owned block surrounded by Second, Franklin, Third and Lafayette streets. Once the former court services building is gone, redevelopment officials plan to utilize the empty block to build the hotel conference center.
The commission’s agreement with the county also includes allowing county employees to park up to 100 vehicles, on weekdays, in a new parking garage that will be part of the hotel conference center development.
For the complete story and more photos, see Wednesday’s Republic.
