The old prosecutor’s office building was built approximately 149 years ago and since then has had add-ons. The building is a part of the Greenfield Courthouse Square Historic District, according to state records.
Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
By Lacey Watt
HANCOCK COUNTY — A bid for the old prosecutor’s office was approved and passed by both the Hancock County commissioners and council on Tuesday night.
Local business man Thomas Moore, who owns The Depot with business partner Ronnie Riggs, went before the boards with a bid of $10,000 for the old prosecutor’s office. Since October 2022, the building has remained empty due to rotting wood, harsh odors and unsafe air quality.
Commissioner Spaulding shared with the boards at the joint evening meeting that Moore was the one and only bid for the vacant building.
Moore shared that he and Riggs have a true love for historic buildings and architecture, which is shown evident by The Depot, located at 240 W Mill St., which was originally a grain elevator built in 1906 that is now converted into a restaurant.
They have also turned a 1945 Co-op fertilizer barn into the Shops of The Depot Park, which now houses Libby’s Ice Cream, Organic Robot Designs and The Depot Beer Garden.
Moore stated in his bid letter for the building that he and Riggs took a tour earlier this year with Greenfield Historic Landmarks. He noted that the building will require a lot of changes and upgrades to be done, but in doing so will eventually provide the community with a new operational facility.
“We have a true love for historic buildings so we knew that one was being vacated and we just really had a desire to make something of it,” Moore said. “After we met with some of the commissioners and got an understanding of the building we thought we had the abilities after what we did here to hopefully make it back to what it used to be and let Greenfield enjoy it for another 100 years.”
In his letter, Moore discussed the idea of renovating the building into rentable offices and meeting rooms, with the possibility of offering catering from The Depot. However, in conversation Moore mentioned that was just one of the many possible ideas.
“Our main concern right now is to fix the outside of the building and get it weather tight,” Moore said. “Once we get it to that point then we’ll use the community to help lead us in the right direction on what the community would like to see in the downtown district.”
The old prosecutor’s office building, located at 27 American Legion Place, was built approximately 149 years ago and since then has had add-ons over the years decades later. Kristy Deer from The Daily Reporter shared in April that the building is a part of the Greenfield Courthouse Square Historic District, according to state records. The focal point of the district is the Romanesque-Revival-style Hancock County Courthouse (1896–1897) and Second-Empire-style old jail.
Further discussed at the meeting, Kent Fisk on the county council, mentioned that something has to be done with the building and also brought up the fact that that’s the only reason why Lincoln Park School — another historic building — is still standing, because they did a similar process.
“I think it’s a win if it actually keeps some of its integrity as the structure it was created for,” Fisk said.
Toward the end of the discussion, Moore also stated that he would buy the building as is, waving inspections.
With that, the county council moved a motion to have authorization for the commissioners to proceed with the sale of the old prosecutor’s office in the amount of $10,000, passing unanimously. The county commissioners then motioned for the county attorney to enter into a negotiation with the sale of the old prosecutor’s office, also passing unanimously.
“I think today’s standard of construction being in the industry is vanilla box,” Moore said. “I think everyone’s forgotten what architectural design looks like and these kids growing up and stuff, you want them to understand what quality was back in that time period.”
Moore said currently the contract is getting drafted, but once the building is in their possession they will go from there, getting architects and structural engineers involved, approximately a year away.
“Me and my partner love Greenfield and historic buildings have a place in our heart. We’re going to continue to fix them one at a time,” Moore said.
