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One of Harrisburg,
Illinois' most unique and distinctive downtown business buildings.
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ATTRACTIVE COMMERCIAL
BUILDING
WITH A PRESTIGIOUS ADDRESS
"20 SOUTH MAIN STREET"
"FLOOD-PROOF"
LOCATION!
"CRUSOE'S ISLAND" HIGH GROUND
This building has wonderful potential, but it would not be for the weak of heart. Besides vision and a solid plan, the purchaser would either have to have access to a considerable sum of capital for the necessary restoration project, or he would be a dedicated, hard working, person who would live on or near the premises in order to methodically take on a very big, long term, job. Due to other commitments, the present owner has decided he is not capable of tackling the job himself and is looking for a buyer to take the project on.
This property not only has a great address, the flooding that Harrisburg experienced in March of 2008, reminds us that Harrisburg's original business district was located on high ground for a very good reason! The March flood left the city severely crippled, and over 70 businesses were either flooded or cut off by flooding. The damage was in the scores of millions. But "Crusoe's Island," where the center of town was originally located, will always remain high and dry.
While most of the stores and businesses in Harrisburg were shut down, there were no stores around the square around the traditional and former business district, to served a needful public.
Click on the images below for a larger view.
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A view of the building from across the street looking northeast and the southwest corner of the building, which faces west. There is a "party wall agreement" between this building and the low building seen on the right. The buildings share the same dividing wall. |
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The construction is brick with 18" thick walls and steel "H" beam girder vertical reinforcement. The exterior brickwork could use tuck pointing to seal and enhance the appearance of the mortar joints. Large steel "I" beams support the upper floors, with 2" X 12" yellow pine floor joists spanning between I-beams. |
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This is the rear of the building. The dilapidated wooden fire escape barely seen here on the left, and on the right of the first photo above, has been removed, as well as the vegetation. The building will require a new metal fire escape before apartments can be rented. With nobody living here, and no tenant for several years, several of the back windows have fallen prey to youths' propensity for throwing rocks at windows. So several have been covered with plywood panels since this photo was taken. I recommend that when back window glass is replaced, heavy, "unbreakable" plexiglass be used. |
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There are many windows in the apartments. My idea was to reduce the number of windows by paneling or walling in the middle windows in three window apartment sets, using the windows taken out as spares for repairing the others. |
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The mortar joints in the bricks on the top of the chimney are deteriorating and we have been removing bricks periodically as they loosen. When the chimney is reduced to about a six to eight foot height, it should be capped with either a masonry cap or a small roof. If the chimney is to be used as a gas stove heating exhaust for apartments, it can be left open but resealed around the brickwork. The building was originally heated by a large coal boiler in the basement, and steam registers. Heating for modern apartments should probably be individual gas or electric apartment units. |
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The roof is structurally sound with plenty of slope. It is covered with standard tar roofing, and though still watertight, there are some leaks near the back of the building that require attention. The cost of having the roof professionally re-tarred would be approximately $6-$7 thousand dollars. |
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Access to the roof is through a hatch that requires a ladder to reach. This opening had been left open for some time before the present owner purchased the building, and pigeons had access to the apartment levels, and particularly the attic area, which is a low crawl space. The upper floors were cleaned up after we bought the building, but flaking paint and plaster are a continuing problem. |
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The white terracotta facade is one of the unique attributes of the building. This is the top of the front of the building, looking north up Main Street. |
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Dividing the rented store front area from the owner's area is the partition shown here. The area in the foreground is the store front area before the renter moved in. This large area is approximately 25' X 55' (1,375 Square Feet), with a 14 foot ceiling. |
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The building does not have any dedicated parking of its own, but there is ample parking in the city parking lots next to it and directly across the street, as well as in the street itself. Street parking in front is limited to two ours on business days. The lot next to the building has all day and all night parking. A small car or pickup could be parked on the building property in the back, if the back porch is reconfigured to make a little more room. |
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This is taken from the roof looking northeast toward the
"big bank" -- the only taller building in town. One unique idea would be a rooftop restaurant or lounge with a spectacular view - at least for Harrisburg. |
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The flag in the middle of this photo is on the court house, one block north of the building. Another idea for the building would be that it would be a nice height from which to broadcast local FM radio. One or more of the upper apartments could serve as a radio studio. |
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To the south is the old post office. |
Built in 1924 or 1925 by Willis H. and Anna G. Thompson to house their clothing business and provide apartment rental income, the storefront later served as insurance and Savings and Loan offices. In 1949 it was purchased by the Harrisburg Legion Home Association and housed the Harrisburg chapter of the American Legion until 1995 when they vacated to a new building. A couple of the apartments were occupied until 1994, when the coal fired furnace and boiler became unusable. For a brief period, since then, the ground floor was rented out and used as a gaming room. Since the Legion vacated, the apartments have been vacant and have suffered sorely from lack of maintenance and neglect. There is much flaking paint and plaster.
The storefront area is presently leased, in a two year lease, to a business. The rent is low, but at least covers property taxes with plenty left over for incidental maintenance expenses.
The rear section of the ground floor, behind a wall partition, including rooms in a former mezzanine area of the original store, could easily be converted to an owners' apartment and work area with a small investment and modest amount of work. It contains a spacious restroom, but water lines are not presently hooked up. Some plumbing, along with the installation of a shower, would be required to make the apartment livable.
This single apartment itself, along with the present rental income (and full potential of the business front), would be worth far more than the asking price of the entire building.
The apartments in the upper two stories are in a pretty sad state of neglect, with deteriorated plaster and flaking paint on the walls. In addition to restoring walls and many deteriorating window sashes, plumbing, and possibly electrical wiring, would have to be largely renewed. A fire escape system, serving the upstairs apartments, would have to be built before apartments could be rented.
There are nine apartments with a rental potential of from $350.00 to $450.00 each. A very rough thumbnail estimate of the cost to bring these apartments to livability, with the owner doing most of the work (an educated guess on the part of the current owner), would be about $5,000.00 each. This could be tackled, one apartment at a time over an extended period.
The rental potential for the ground floor store front, with some needed improvements (especially if a rest room is added), is perhaps as high as $600.00, or more, per month – approximately twice as much as the current lease. Presently, the store front area does not have a rest room or plumbing on any kind, but there is a sewage drain available, and water lines could easily be routed to the area.
The roof is sound, but has a couple of leaks in the back of the building which could be repaired with a small amount of work and investment. The cost of having the entire roof professionally re-tarred would be between $6,000.00 and $7,000.00 (a square footage estimate by a roofing company that is familiar with the area).
The floors are very sound, though there is a slight sag in a couple of the main steel cross beams and wood joist spans between. This sag appears to have stabilized many years or decades ago. The steel cross beams are very substantial 12 inch "I" beams, and the joists are all 2" X 12" yellow pine on 16 inch centers. Floors are all wood and in pretty good condition.
Putting all of this together, a total investment of perhaps less than $100,000.00 could render up, conservatively speaking, a property with a yearly $40,000.00 + income potential, based on rentals alone. If the owner operated a profitable business of his own from the storefront, that potential would be much greater. The $100,000.00 estimate would be drastucally reduced if the owner was also the primary renovator.
One of the present owner's visions was that the main storefront would make an excellent site for an upscale bar/restaurant or convenience store, serving both the apartment tenants as well as the downtown, and broader, community. It was envisioned that the apartments should also be upscale, "traditional old-fashioned" city-style apartments (but with all the modern conveniences, of course), something that no longer exists in Harrisburg.
Built about 1924, the building qualifies as a bona-fide historical building – and it is a particularly unique building, the only one of its type remaining in town. Though Harrisburg has not yet begun a Main Street historical preservation program, Saline County is within a recognized historical district — the "Ohio River Route Where Illinois Began." To my knowledge, only two buildings in Harrisburg are currently listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings, those being the City Hall and the Saline County Poor Farm, which is part of the Saline County Museum.
There are several government programs intended to encourage and assist in the preserving and restoration of significant historical buildings. These include various tax incentives and actual monetary grants to encourage historical preservation.
One could hardly hope for a better up-town location. At 20 South Main Street, it is only half a block from the city Courthouse and Square. In spite of the still poor business climate in the heart of the city, it is in a "good neighborhood," with better than average business potential for business offices, restaurant, bar, or specialty store or service center. There is ample parking in the area, and several businesses, including the theaters which are just across the street.
Main Street has plenty of traffic, so any business established in the building would get plenty of free public exposure. However, pedestrian traffic is scarce due to the present lack of business variety in the immediate area. Any business seeking to locate in our building would best be of a nature that would draw customers to the uptown area by its unique character or merchandise, and/or in some way serve the needs of the nearby business and working community.
There are several nearby work-places, including the jail, the courthouse, the Daily Register newspaper office, Fire Department, City Hall, two large banks, two small factories, and several other small business and professional offices. There are two nearby drinking establishments, (and a watering hole in between would probably enhance the business of all three). Several hundred people work daily in close proximity to the building. Of course, the theaters across the street bring many potential customers into the area, particularly on weekend evenings. There is only one service restaurant in the immediate area, and a lunch room serving the business community is certainly needed. Another consideration is that there is no longer a centrally located grocery or convenience store serving the uptown area. The building could easily serve as either. It would also make good location for an antique mall, or even a museum.
While there seems to be a housing and apartment building boom going on, there are no apartments within several blocks of the square for those who would like to live in the center of town. Chances are, if the apartments in the building were restored to quality "old fashion city apartments" there would be ready takers, for there is nothing of that nature left in the city. There are potentially nine separate apartments on the upper two floors. These could be refurbished as is or converted to six very spacious luxury apartments. Another option would be a multiplex bed and breakfast to serve the local tourist industry and traveling business people, with an upscale restaurant on the ground floor
In addition to the upstairs apartments, the ground floor has a mezzanine in the rear suitable for a living area for the business owner.
The interior floor size of the premises is approximately 25 feet wide across the store front, and about 90 feet in depth, or 2,250 square feet. Presently approximately the front two thirds of this area is partitioned and rented out. The rented area does not have water or bath room facilities, and the rent is $300.00 per month on a two year lease.
There is no dedicated parking area for building customers or residents, but there is plenty of city parking in two lots, next door, across the street, and on the street.
Property taxes are reasonable. The property tax bill for 2006, paid in 2007, was $573.56 up from $544.22 the previous year.
The building is currently available for and asking price of $50,000.00, on an "as is" basis.
Seriously interested parties are invited to send email to: bill@heritech.com
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