FIXER-UPPER: Preservationists seek new use for prosecutor’s office

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The Hancock County prosecutor’s office, built in 1876, features the Second Empire architectural style popularized in France during that time. daily reporter file photo

GREENFIELD — At the Hancock County prosecutor’s office, space is tight and winters are drafty. Visitors to the offices have included bats and pigeons. The staff is eager to move out, but nonprofit organizations hope a new use can be found for the historic building.

After the county’s new jail is complete, a new home for the prosecutor’s office is likely next on the list of county projects. The county has discussed plans to move the office to the space currently occupied by Hancock County Community Corrections at 233 E. Main Street, though the director of community corrections has said he’d like to keep the space.

Either way, it will leave the current prosecutor’s building at 27 American Legion Place vacant, and the county wants to get the building, no longer useful as an office space, off its hands.

Mary Gibble of the Hancock County Community Foundation said the organization wants to help facilitate a conversation between the county government and interested nonprofit organizations to decide on the next steps for the building.

“We can play whatever role is needed to address a beautiful asset to our downtown,” she said.

Gibble said an architectural study would need to be conducted on the building to determine the extent of its problems and whether there is structural damage. The community foundation has asked the county commissioners to consider paying for that study, but the commissioners haven’t yet made a decision.

County council member Bill Bolander said the council has agreed to commit $15,000 to an architectural study of the building, but the commissioners will need to sign off on it as well.

The building, located across the street from the Hancock County Courthouse, was built in 1876 and was originally a jail itself.

Cathleen Huffman, board president of Greenfield Historic Landmarks, said the organization is very interested in preserving the structure. The building, she said, is an example of the Second Empire architectural style, which was popularized in France during the reign of Emperor Napoleon III and caught on in the U.S. The style mixes elements of many different design periods and is characterized by its stylized mansard roofs.

Huffman said she believes the building is the only example of the style, once popular for public buildings, that remains standing in Hancock County.

Greenfield Landmarks, Huffman said, probably isn’t the right organization to take over the building itself, but the board is hopeful about finding a new owner that would be interested in renovating it and operating a business.

“There are some ideas and there are some interested parties,” she said.

Huffman said the building retains many of its original features, including its stairwell, windows and fireplaces. However, she said, it’s likely significant modifications would be required to the interior, and Greenfield Landmarks is primarily interested in preserving the historic exterior.

Though the building itself does not have a historical designation, plans to make modifications to it would need to go through a review process with the state historic preservation officer because it is part of the city’s historic downtown district.

An architectural study, Huffman said, would help prospective buyers know what they were taking on by purchasing the building.

“Everybody wants what’s best for the building, but we don’t know yet about the condition,” she said, adding that there is time for some deliberation about what to do with the building since the prosecutor’s office is not moving out immediately.