Bresee Tower is now in the hands of the City of Danville, with the city planning to tear it down, but the owner plans an appeal. During a Thursday morning Vermilion County Court proceeding, a judicial deed was granted, giving the building to the city of Danville. Owner Chris Collins had not filed a complaint to prevent the judicial deed within a required 21 day period.
Collins appeared without an attorney at the proceeding, saying he could not afford to pay him at this time. But Collins said afterwards that his attorney will be back, as he has investors that will be working with him. Collins says his dream to turn Bresee Tower into a 1920s era hotel is still alive, and can be done. He says he tried to ask the mayor to postpone Thursday proceedings, to give some key investors a chance to come to town and observe everything.
AUDIO: We have the best attorney in the world. Neil Smith is awesome. He’s already done probably $10,000 worth of pro bono work for us. We’ve paid some money. But, you know, it is what it is. I took the engineers, on my own, all through the building; I didn’t have to do that. And I let them look at the entire thing. And they said, “Chris, it’s only the exterior. This building is going to last another hundred years.” Even today could have been avoided. I just sent the mayor another letter saying, “Hey, can you pause this?”
(Left) Chris Collins at a recent Danville City Council meeting. (Right) Danville mayor Rickey Williams, Jr.
Danville mayor Rickey Williams, Jr; however; says Collins has never shown investors who are adequately ready to go and ready to do something. He compared it to other major projects that have come to Danville.
AUDIO: When I met with Carle, when we talked with the people from FedEx, when we met with our casino partners; they all were able to give us verifiable financial information to document that the had the resources to complete such a project.”
The mayor says it will be a series of “steps and motions” for Collins to file an appeal with the Appellate Court on the judicial deed. Meanwhile, Williams says the deed transfer was officially signed Thursday morning, and the city will go to work on securing the building and eventually preparing it for demolition.
AUDIO: Shortly, our police force and our public works team will be going in to do a clearance of the building to ensure that there are no people there. They will then secure the building so that no one who’s unauthorized can enter and exit the premises; as well as having the locks changed on the building.
Collins mentioned, and Mayor Williams confirmed, that some squatters had entered the building and done some damage over the past couple of weeks. The mayor says they apparently entered through the fifth floor fire escape.
The mayor says it’s in the best interest of the public to let the legal process play out, but the city will be preparing a request for proposal and making plans to bid out the project. Williams also says the city will continue to work with the county on the planned simultaneous demolition of the adjacent Vermilion County Court Annex Building.
