(Submitted to blog by Peggy Edwards)
The abandoned Brown Printing and Continental Trailways Bus Station buildings in downtown Meridian will be demolished today to increase the visibility of historic City Hall, which is currently undergoing massive renovations, the mayor's office reported Friday.
The neighboring buildings are located on 23rd Avenue between Sixth and Seventh streets. A contractor will begin demolition at 6 a.m. today, and anticipates that the front walls will crumble around 8 a.m.
The Brown Printing building was built in 1920, according the Lauderdale County Tax Assessors office. The building was in operation as a restaurant called the Triangle during the 1950s and '60s, then became the location of Johnson Printing. It was purchased by the Brown family in 1973, who used it to house their printing company until they moved at the city's request in 2006, according to Brown Printing co-owner Benji Brown.
People with the Lauderdale County Tax Assessor's office and the Lauderdale County Department of Archives and History said they did not have records of what the building was used for before it became the Triangle Restaurant.
The Brown's exchanged the building for one on Front Street next to the Union Hotel building, turning over ownership of their old building to the city.
Brown said Meridian Mayor John Robert Smith began talks with Brown Printing about moving to a new location as far back as 10 years ago.
City Hall was built in 1915, and is currently being renovated to replicate its original look and style as much as possible while accommodating current building codes and technology. Past renovations have removed or destroyed historical aspects of the building that are now being restored.
Meridian Mayor John Robert Smith hopes to create a landscaped park that stretches from City Hall on 26th Avenue to the Threefoot Building and the MSU-Riley Center on 22nd Avenue. A portion of the park would be in the space once occupied by the Brown Printing and Trailways buildings. Brown said he hopes some part of the park will be named after his parents, Joe and Choxie Brown, who founded Brown Printing Company.
As they currently stand, plans for the park, or "City Green" are contingent on the city council passing a deal with developer HRI Properties to restore the Threefoot building into a Courtyard by Marriott hotel. A portion of the financing for the restoration would be in the form of a $14 million city-backed loan.
The Threefoot building was recently declared a public safety hazard by consulting group BioPure, who were hired by HRI to assess damage to the building's facade. They reported that parts of the facade were in danger of falling from the building onto nearby pedestrians or vehicles.
HRI has been considering hiring BioPure to further analyze the facade if the council accepts HRI's proposal. A letter released by the mayor's office Friday stated that the city is now requesting a proposal from BioPure to do a similar study. "This study will cover the elements of the facade that present a public safety concern and what recommendations they have to perform immediate repairs to stabilize those elements," the letter read. The letter was addressed to Smith from HRI V.P. Josh Collen.
The mayor's office also released a letter from White Construction Company to Collen. White provided an estimate of more than $7.3 million for the restoration of the Threefoot building's facade.
The Meridian City Council is expected to vote on HRI's proposal to restore the Threefoot building at their Tues., Dec. 16 meeting. The meeting will be held at 5 p.m. at the courthouse in the police station.
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