Commercial-News Editorial: Save the Adams

Danville City Council members recently agreed to spend $38,700 for a Champaign firm to study downtown’s Adams Building to determine whether the five-story structure can be renovated.

It will be money well spent regardless of the result.

The Adams stands as one of the taller buildings remaining downtown, and will be especially so after the former Bresee Tower is demolished. The Adams, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been empty since 2016. To lose the Adams would create another big gap in downtown’s streetscape and take away what could be a tremendous asset.

City officials set aside more than $60,000 in December 2021 in an effort to gain ownership of the building, but that effort apparently failed. Logan Cronk, the city’s community development administrator, told city council members last month the building’s owner agreed to allow the city access to the structure for its study.

A revitalization plan developed by a Rockford firm for downtown included the Adams. It proposed the first floor be used as retail space, with the top four floors converted into 24 apartments.

The building once was home to numerous professional offices and featured an elevator that required an operator to move visitors from floor to floor. As tenants began to leave, the building started to deteriorate. City officials spent $800 in 2021 to board over windows in an effort to preserve the structure.

The revitalization plan released in December 2023 estimated the renovation cost of the Adams at $8.7 million, about half the price tag of the city’s Garfield Park pool project now underway. Where the pool will see use for four months or so out of the year, depending on weather, a remodeled Adams would bring in revenue year-around as well as provide much-needed housing.

In addition, the revitalization plan outlined how a hefty chunk of the cost could be recovered through state and federal housing tax credits.

The idea of a renovated Adams, along with the county’s restored Joseph G. Cannon Building, the vibrant Fischer Theatre, a busy Danville Public Library and popular Vermilion County War Museum create a picture of a bright and popular downtown district. A strong downtown remains a critical element in a community’s economic health and long-term well-being.

If, however, the upcoming study finds the Adams is too far gone to make restoration possible, it’s still likely to cost city officials a significant chunk of change to demolish — and North Vermilion Street will gain another large vacant lot.

City officials should commit to preserving the Adams if at all possible. The opportunity was missed with Bresee Tower, they can’t afford to do the same with the Adams. Once the core of the community begins to die, the rest of the community suffers as well. The idea of renovation is an expensive one, but one that could pay dividends for decades to come.