Bloomington City Council unanimously denied historic preservation for the Boxman-Mitchell Building during a February meeting. Some council members highlighted the building’s rumored past as a segregated restaurant while others mentioned its current unsafe condition and the remodeling projects that have altered the facade.
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Josh Alley, building owner, said he doesn’t have the $300,000 necessary to make the building safe and said he had no plans for the property until after the pandemic.
“We had a vision when we bought the building to restore the building. But when you start peeling back the onion, things got a little complicated. That’s when they got costly,” Alley said. “If I had to do something tomorrow, I’d demo the building, plant grass seed and sit and wait beyond the pandemic to see what happens.”
The building was demolished Monday.
