“Old National leases our space in the building at West Main Street in Danville, so it is the building owner putting the building up for auction. This does not impact our business at this location,” Rick Vach, external communications manager with Old National Bancorp in Ann Arbor, Mich., said last month. “Our lease will remain in effect if the building is sold, and we will continue to serve our clients at this location.”
THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS-GAZETTE STORY BY JENNIFER BAILEY
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DANVILLE — It’s not being kept a secret anymore.
The city of Danville was the winning bidder in an auction for the Old National Bank building and intends to make it the new location of City Hall.
The city council is expected to vote tonight on approving the purchase of the building at 2 W. Main St. and amending the city’s fiscal year 2024-25 budget to create a fund for the property.
The fund would include $425,000 for the purchase price, $21,250 for transaction fees and anticipated closing costs of up to $23,750, with the money coming from the general fund reserve.
According to the resolution, the general fund reserve will be reimbursed once a $1 million payment is received from the Danville Golden Nugget casino as part of the host community agreement. That money is expected to be received next month.
City officials have long talked about moving City Hall, currently housed in the Robert E. Jones Municipal Building across the street at 17 W. Main St., which has been plagued by moisture and other problems.
In 2021, the city funded a study to look into consolidating the offices in that building into the public works building.
Danville Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. said the current City Hall building needs about a couple million dollars in facility improvements and he’d rather spend that money to make the Old National Bank building suitable for City Hall. The ONB building also has a better layout, he said.
He said the current building has a leaky roof, cracks in walls, moisture and HVAC problems, its elevator needs replaced and not all restrooms are handicapped-accessible.
“This building has so many issues,” Williams said. “The layout is not ideal. This would be a fresh start.”
City Hall houses 34 employees with the mayor’s office and legal, finance and other departments.
Williams said the current City Hall would be demolished to allow for a bigger redevelopment site with Bresee Tower and the Vermilion County Courthouse Annex also demolished. It’d be a half block of prime real estate, he said.
The City Hall move would take time, possibly a year and a half or longer, due to design work, engineering and construction. The building also has room to grow.
The city would use the building space the bank isn’t, Wiliams said. They’ve not had conversaations with bank officials yet on short- and long-term goals.
The auction for the Old National Bank building occurred last month, with a starting bid of $125,000. The winning bid was $425,000, with a purchase price of $446,250.
At the time, Williams wouldn’t publicly confirm that the city was the winning bidder. Aldermen had been kept informed of the city’s interest in the building, with it ultimately going to auction, in closed sessions at meetings.
The listing on the Ten-X auction website stated that the three-floor “Value-Add Bank Office” building totals 40,152 square feet. It was built in 1976 and renovated in 1994.
Old National Bank is the only tenant, and its lease expires in October 2029, the listing said. It said the property includes about 25,000 square feet of above-grade space and 15,000 square feet of basement space. The 1.9-acre parcel was owned by 2 West Main LLC of Evansville, Ind.
