Now that Vermilion County plans to move all of its offices out of the Courthouse Annex, how does that affect plans to market the empty Bresee Tower? Danville Mayor Scott Eisenhauer thinks it could help. ‘’We do have parties that are interested in Bresee. And in talking with all of them they have plans for what they might also do with the annex, if it ever became available as well. So we’ll see if any of those interested parties continue beyond just the research and development phase, and actually start working toward construction,’’ said the Mayor. But I’m very happy for the County and the people that they serve because I think that building will be a fantastic opportunity to perform governmental functions. But it also, then, gives us the ability to market not only Bresee Tower itself, but also the annex portion that goes along with it.’’
It was announced this week that Vermilion County is acquiring the Danville Federal Courthouse building. The County plans to move offices currently at the Vermilion County Courthouse Annex into the federal building by late spring of 2018.
The 12-story Bresee Tower has been vacant since the owner forced tenants out in 2005. And Mayor Eisenhauer says the longer it sits vacant the more concern grows about its future. ‘’Unfortunately, less than a month ago, we had more of the exterior terra cotta fall off of the building. So that’s where the initial sense of urgency really comes in is repairing the exterior and trying to make sure that it is structurally sound. The building – itself – and the interior are very structurally sound,’’ says Mayor Eisenhauer. ‘’Now it’s going to take some remodeling and some updating, to say the least. And it’s limited on its per-square footage per floor, but I think there’s still some great opportunities for that building. Those opportunities just need to present themselves sooner, rather than later,’’ adds the Mayor.
County Board Chairman Mike Marron agrees that time may be ticking on the landmark Bresee Tower. ‘’You know, I mean anytime you’ve got a vacant building the longer it sits the more dangerous it becomes. And I think time is ticking on that – and I think that’s a concern with staying in the Annex,’’ said Marron during an interview with VermilionCountyFirst.com News. ‘’We know that we’re going to have to move out at some point unless the Tower is renovated. And, you know, it doesn’t seem like there’s much out there in the way of viable options right now. So having a place to move to that makes sense is a big thing for us, really,’’ added Marron.
Bresee Tower is owned by Land Company of Danville, which is a subsidiary of First Corbin Financial Corporation of Kentucky. The downtown landmark was built 100 years ago.
