Deciding what can be saved
Future uncertain for LaFayette Square buildings
For two years LaFayette has struggled with a solution to clean up a downtown eyesore and to protect the structural integrity of adjacent buildings.
The building at 101 E. LaFayette Square, at the intersection of Main and Villanow streets, collapsed in February 2018; the area has been cleared with protective fencing in place while city officials mulled different options.
“This is where we stand now: trying to figure out how to do the demolition without damaging the adjacent properties that can be saved,” City Manager David Hamilton said.
A month before the collapse, the city’s enforcement department had sent a letter to property owner Robert White informing him that structural issues needed to be addressed.
Because the collapsed building shared a wall with the building known for years as the Cunningham Law Office, the law office building is also in danger of collapse, as is Palace Place on the other side of the law office. Both buildings had been used as offices prior to the building collapse and have since been vacated.
The county owns the building that was connected to the rear of the collapsed building and once used it as a courthouse annex. The structural integrity of this building is also in question.
There are lawsuits that are in process regarding the collapse.
“We’re having conversations with the property owners daily right now to try and figure out how to resolve this without a lawsuit,” Hamilton said.
Property owner Robert White was sent a letter from the city to clean things up and since then White has acquired the former Cunningham building and determined that would have to be torn down. White then bought Palace Place and determined it would have to come down too.
The current demolition plan, which is being refined by a professional engineer, is to remove the Cunningham and Palace Place buildings, and to save the county annex and City Club buildings.
“We are working with the property owners and the adjacent property owners to get a timeline together for cleaning it up and a plan to protect the remaining property that is still intact,” Hamilton said.
Due to litigation process the property owner declined to comment for this story.