Since last fall, the buildings located at 319 and 321 G Street in Central City have been deemed unsafe for occupancy. The sidewalk in front of the buildings has been blocked off with barriers, and “Keep Out” signs have been posted on the doors.

The buildings in question, situated along Main Street, have housed a variety of local businesses over the years, including Countryside Flowers and Antiques, Ladybug Tea and Gifts, and Funguy Farms, among many others. However, signs of structural deterioration were discovered after the Central City Volunteer Fire Department responded to an incident at the site. Upon inspection by the State Fire Marshal, it became clear that the interior walls were beginning to buckle. The risk of collapse forced an immediate evacuation and closure of the structures.

Unfortunately, the neighboring NAPA building will also need to be demolished. According to City Administrator Chris Anderson, the structural integrity of the connected buildings makes it impossible to tear down the damaged ones without also taking down NAPA.

“We are unable to demolish without also demolishing the NAPA building,” Anderson explained. “So we’ve been working with the NAPA owners to relocate from that building so we can tear all the buildings down at once. We’ve been trying to help find a new location for NAPA so they can possibly rebuild. That’s kind of what had been holding us up from getting the demolition underway—finding them a new home.”

NAPA has since moved all of its inventory back to its main warehouse. At this time, the business is unable to operate in the Central City area, but owner Troy Anderson made it clear they are not leaving the community permanently.

“We’ve just got to see what comes of the future,” Anderson said. “See if we can find a place to build or if a building comes up to rent. Currently, we haven’t found the right solution yet.”

The three buildings set for demolition date back to the 1890s. The structure that most recently housed NAPA originally served as a drugstore, built by Charles Stitzler and a Mr. Porter. Over the years, it became known as Tooley's Drug Store and operated under that name until the 1950s. It later briefly operated as a furniture store before ultimately becoming home to the NAPA business.

Nancy Johnson of the Merrick County Historical Museum shared fond memories of the building’s time as a drugstore.

“They had ice cream and ice cream cones, and it had a marble counter and back bar, along with marble and wire tables with chairs,” Johnson said.

Other businesses once located in the historic buildings include a cigar shop and a men’s tailor, the latter of which operated on the upper level.

As for what’s next for the site, Anderson said plans remain open-ended.

“We don’t have an exact plan. Once the lots are cleared, we’re going to make them available to someone who wants to redevelop and put up a new building. We don’t know who that is right now.”

With the Fourth of July Parade approaching, some concerns have been raised about public safety during the event. Heavy construction barricades have now been set up around the site, and officials are advising paradegoers to avoid the sidewalk area in front of the buildings.

With NAPA now fully moved out, the city expects to begin demolition of the three buildings sometime in July, once all remaining pieces of the plan fall into place.

“It’s been a long time since those barricades went up—a lot longer than we expected,” Anderson said. “It’s been difficult to bring all the parties together for a coordinated plan because we can’t do anything without everyone involved.”