Photo: Soon to Be Demolished?
Hubby was working at the shop and encountered the woman who owns our local H&R Block office. She was hurriedly moving out of her office (that she’d just moved into late last year).
There is room for three tenants. H&R Block was on the far right. The local boxing club has their gym in the corner segment, and a small church had occupied the back left area, but I think they moved out a few months ago. The reason H&R Block was moving out? The guy who owns the bank (just visible on the far right of the picture) bought the building and presumably is planning to demolish it. He wants a parking lot — or something — for the bank.
We hate to see an old building torn down. H&R Block has found another location in town, but they’re out the several thousand dollars they just spent renovating this space for their use. We’re not sure what will happen to the boxing club. And, after the town ran the motorcycle shop out that was in the back space, except for the church’s brief residence there, that space has been empty. (The motorcycle shop, by the way, moved to a town up the road into a much larger space and a town more friendly to business, and he seems to be thriving there. I’m still planning to buy my new bike tires from him.)
Unfortunately, the woman who had owned the building and had (anecdotally) said she’d sell it to the banker over “her dead body” died about two years ago. Her son, who inherited it and lives in Austin, presumably wasn’t in a position to hold out against the banker’s pressure. (We’ve heard he can apply a lot of pressure. Some hints have been made that his methods are sometimes questionable. We won’t do any business with this bank.)
Before we left on vacation, there was an awning along the front of the building. I don’t know if it fell down while we were gone or if it had help, but it’s missing now, and you’ll note there’s a couple windows boarded over.
It looks like there’s a bank drive up window on the right, but that’s the old one. They built a new drive-through facility several years ago a couple of blocks away. We just hate to see another old building tossed by the wayside.
