Bresee Tower, which has been sitting vacant for years in downtown Danville, has a new owner. Scottie Porter, executive director of Historic Restoration Inc., a non-profit group based in Alabama, says the building has been sold. But he would not divulge who purchased it. Instead, Porter said he has been asked to let the new owners ‘’tell their story in their time.’’
It was announced in October of 2017 that Historic Restoration Inc. had purchased the building. The purchase surprised local officials, including Mayor Scott Eisenhauer. The City of Danville had earlier taken court action to try to get the building’s owner to make some safety improvements after bits of terra cotta fell from the building.
Porter expressed disappointment when the City named him and his non-profit company as new defendants in the case almost immediately after Porter announced the October 2017 purchase agreement.
Since then, all of the Vermilion County offices that had been located in the Vermilion County Courthouse Annex have relocated to the former federal court building in Danville. The County decided to relocate those offices because of concerns over the condition of Bresee Tower. The courthouse annex building wraps part of the way around Bresee Tower, and now it, too, is vacant.
