Decision made: Damaged Du Quoin Insurance Agency building will come down

Du Quoin Insurance Agency owner Ronnell Karoski said Monday that her family has made the decision to have their downtown business building demolished after it was damaged when the west wall of a building next door fell in on May 21.

Six months later, Mrs. Karoski said that between the damage to the east wall and EPA considerations with respect to asbestos-laden glue in the flooring it becomes more cost effective to take the building down than to repair it. The historic agency is currently housed in the nearby Brookings Building at 106 East Main.

The building at issue is historically significant in that it is the last original wood-framed building downtown when Du Quoin's business district developed in the late 1800s.

She said that in recent weeks the agency has begun emptying the building of remaining files, furniture and fixtures.

The demolition has not been put on a timetable, but it will happen this winter.

Discussions will be ongoing with the City of Du Quoin as to the safety considerations and, at some point, with the owners of the next door Higgins Jewelry building property, Richelle Lietz of Dubois.

It is too early to talk about whether the properties will be offered for sale, if the city would have re-purposing plans for the property or if the lots will simply remain vacant. She said her insurance will cover most of the costs, but at some point her insurance company will try and recover some of the costs from the insurer involved in the Higgins Jewelry building. That building in May was determined to be an imminent threat and was demolished within weeks of the collapse.

Karoski said all of the decisions about the demolition and the property will be made in an orderly fashion in the best interest of all concerned.