THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS-GAZETTE STORY BY JENNIFER BAILEY
ABOVE: Partial demolition occurred last month at 129 N. Vermilion St. The city also plans to demolish the building to the north, housing Chart Records, at 131 N. Vermilion St., also due to its poor condition.
DANVILLE — Chart Records has been a staple in downtown Danville for about 20 years, and since 1981 in the city.
The music store returned downtown, where it got its start, after an absence of more than 20 years, in 2003. It’s also been located on North Vermilion Street.
With its current downtown building at 131 N. Vermilion St. slated to be demolished, store owner Greg Wilson, who leases the building from sisters in Chicago, will at least be continuing his business on the internet.
Wilson plans to finish out the year downtown, and doesn’t have a set closing date. He hasn’t found another possible physical storefront location.
He said rents have gotten more expensive.
When he moved back downtown in 2003, Wilson said, “I feel it’s a viable move. With what’s being done in the downtown, it’s going to be a good place to be. I was ready to be part of a real retail community again.”
The building had about the same floor space as his other location for display of merchandise, but offered more storage area.
“That will give us more space for packing and shipping for my Internet business,” Wilson said 20 years ago. Wilson had built an eBay business from items he’s had through the years. In store has CDs and other items.
The Danville City Council will act on purchasing the building for $83,151 from the Paras family at the council’s 6 p.m. Tuesday meeting at city hall, 17 W. Main St. Funding for the purchase will come from the city’s community reinvestment fund reserves.
With the demolition of the vacant, city-owned building to the south at 129 N. Vermilion St., Wilson said the wall would’ve had to be reinforced. There also are roof issues with the building at 131 N. Vermilion St. Wilson said the building isn’t worth fixing up.
The site’s future use remains unknown.
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