Tax-forfeited, deteriorating Fremad building could be gone by July

By Melanie Stegner

news@pctribune.com

The fate of the Fremad building has been decided and the county is moving forward with a demolition plan set to cost roughly $730,000, which includes the costs of obtaining adjoining properties. 

The county has executed purchase agreements for the Law Building and a building owned by Tom Buysse that are adjacent to the deteriorating Fremad building on Franklin Street in downtown Glenwood.  The county has made plans to demolish all three buildings to create a paved area that will be offered for sale at a future date, it was stated last week.

Demolition of the buildings alone is expected to cost the county around $450,000. Purchase of the Law Building is $175,000 and the Buysse building is $100,000, according to Pope County Administrator Kersten Kappmeyer.  The purchase of the adjacent buildings is necessary as both structures rely on the Fremad to maintain structural integrity, it is believed.  One wall of the Buysse building is the exterior wall of the Fremad. The Law Building relies on the Fremad for structural integrity as it protects it from the elements. According to a report from Sandman Engineering in 2021, the Law Building is susceptible to damage without the protection of the Fremad building.  

In the next week or two, agreements will be finalized and then demolition will be bid in April, authorized in May and demolition will occur in June or July. The plan is to close tentatively on March 1, Kappmeyer said.  

The county received the Fremad building in 2014 from tax forfeiture. An engineer was retained in 2017 to go through the building and evaluate the site. A price tag to renovate the building was set at over $1.5 million. Since that time, more issues with the building have arisen.

In 2018 and again in 2019 the county put the building up for auction with no success. After that time, the county conveyed the property to the Pope County HRA/EDA. “We conveyed it to the HRA/EDA as they have more tools in their toolbox for this kind of thing,” said Kappmeyer. “Back then, American Solutions for Business was looking for a new location for offices, and that had started the conversation. Due to COVID and circumstances during that time, the idea was not fruitful for them,” he added.

Discussion on how to proceed with the Fremad building has been ongoing since September of last year. “There has been very positive dialogue with the adjacent property owners,” Kappmeyer stated.