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Council invests more into downtown property, weary of demolition

Galesburg City Council has now spent over $500,000 rehabbing a downtown building, but the administration still says they’d prefer to complete renovations rather than tear it down.

Aldermen approved a change order for around $192,000 Monday night for ongoing repairs at 120 E. Main St.

Director of Public Works Wayne Carl says that because 120 E. Main shares a wall with the Galesburg Civic Art Center, demolition is complicated.

Carl says the current estimate for demolition is around $400,000.

That includes some strengthening of the Art Center building but it could be more than that when we get into the project for demolition,” Carl says.

City Manager Todd Thompson defends the use of Tax Increment Financing dollars to pay for repairs, even though it seems likely the city will lose hundreds of thousands on the project.

“The Tax Increment Financing district is developed and the revenues are generated for projects like this that normally might not occur from a business or economic standpoint,” Thompson says.

Thompson says whether the city uses or sells the building is up to the council, but his original recommendation was to get the building structurally sound and then market it to end users.
Wayne Dennis was the lone alderman to express concerns and he was the only vote against the changer order.

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