DANVILLE — Rickey Williams Jr. did not enjoy his tour Tuesday of a longtime city landmark that has fallen into disrepair.
“It was very sad to see something that used to be so beautiful in such a state of dilapidation. It sickened me,” said the mayor, who went through the interior of what used to be known as Bresee Tower along with “our city engineering and community development teams” in the wake of a circuit court ruling Thursday that granted ownership of the property to the city.
Because of the deteriorating condition of the 12-story tower, which hovers over a key downtown intersection, the city filed suit to clear the way for demolition.
On Thursday, Vermilion County Judge Derek Girton granted the deed to the city over the urging of its previous owner, Chris Collins.
Williams said Collins “reiterated what he said before” when speaking to city officials — “that they have investors and they’re going to put netting up” to protect people from debris falling from the building’s terra cotta facade.
Williams said in 2018, when Collins and his wife, Jeri, bought the building, they assured him they would make it safe and install netting, but it has yet to happen.
Also, Williams said, “they will swear we have denied them permits and stuff” to prohibit them from taking those safety measures.
“But I can assure you we have not denied them,” Williams said.
He said the Collinses plan to appeal last week’s court ruling.
On Tuesday, Williams and staff wanted to see for themselves what kind of shape the building is in.
“We’re always shown the good parts of the interior, but unfortunately, even they’re getting bad,” Williams said in a Facebook post that accompanied photos of the building.
He said water had infiltrated the building “to the point that the carpet is sopping wet on the seventh floor, and there are leaks all the way into the fourth.”
Williams added a P.S.: “We’ve been promised that the treasures are there, but you’ll see from several vantage points that the clock is missing.”
Last month, Chris Collins urged the city council to help save the building.
Williams said the last time he had been in the building was “six or seven years ago.”
“There was a push by Downtown Danville to do something,” he said. “It didn’t look so bad then.”
He hadn’t been in it since.
Williams said he doesn’t know how fast the city can move to demolish the tower. The appeals process must first play out.
The city set aside $4 million last fall to demolish Collins Tower as well as the Vermilion County Courthouse Annex adjacent to it and a few other buildings in the downtown area. The county will also help pay for the courthouse annex demolition.
In the meantime, Williams said the city has secured the building so no one can enter. There was evidence that someone had entered through a fifth-floor fire door.
