Fremad, adjacent buildings to be demolished starting the day after Labor Day
Published on August 7, 2023 at 1:50pm CDT
Publisher’s Perspective
By Tim Douglass, Publisher of the Pope County Tribune
It’s been a discussion for years, but the Fremad building and adjacent buildings will be demolished soon. According to Jason Murray, director of the Pope County HRA/EDA,Demolition activities will start on Tuesday, Sept. 5 (day after Labor Day).
Earlier it was believed that demolition would begin sometime in August, after Waterama, but the contractor for the demolition, Joe Riley Construction, provided a demolition schedule that begins on Sept. 5.
It is estimated that the demolition will take about three weeks.
Additional fencing will be added to the site the morning of Sept. 5 and it was noted that the fencing will block both alleys and completely enclose the demolition site.
Other things discussed at a recent meeting with the contractor and neighboring business included the possibility that traffic may be reduced to one lane on Franklin Street and the portion of 1st Ave. SE that borders the building may be fully blocked during demolition.
So now, years after the Fremad building was forfeited for taxes and the state returned the property to Pope County, demolition of the building is approaching.
It was in April of this year that the Glenwood City Commission, at the request of the Pope County HRA/EDA, established a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District to help fund the demolition and preparation of the site for a new development. At this point, there is some interest in the property, we’re told, but no specific information on that has yet been provided.
Murray first approached the city in February to set the public hearings for the proposed TIF District to assist with the redevelopment of the Fremad and adjacent buildings. The county and the county HRA/EDA have worked diligently since 2014 to sell the Fremad building.
Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is a method to capture revenue that uses taxes on future gains in real estate values to pay for new infrastructure improvements. TIFs are authorized by state law and begin with the designation of a geographic area as a TIF District. TIF Districts may be used as a tool to include public infrastructure, land acquisition, relocation, demolition, utilities, debt service and planning costs.
