Owner shares update for Adams St. buildings 2 months after massive fire

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — It's been two months since a fire started on Adams Street, destroying the front of 413/415 Adams. Christopher Nickell, who owns 413/415 and 409/411 Adams Street buildings, says progress on demolition will hopefully start soon.

"The structure that burnt, the front half is three stories, and that's the section where we had the fire and the collapse," said Nickell. "The rear of the building is five stories. The front section was built in 1907 and the rear was built in 1914 so it was two separate structures, and so our intent is to save the five story structure in the rear."

Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher signed an emergency order to tear the front of that building down after the fire because it was at the risk of falling off the building. Now Nickell and his contractors are focusing on stabilizing the wall connecting the 409/411 building with the 413/415 building, so the remaining structure can be torn down.

"The 409/411 structure that houses Café Moxo and the apartments above will definitely be saved," said Nickell. "Café Moxo wants to reopen back where they were and the four residential tenants above all also have an interest in returning to their original apartments."

Nickell says there isn't a concrete timeline yet, but he hopes to complete the general construction and demolition work by the end of September or beginning of October. He hopes to use the empty part of the 413/415 Adams Street lot as an outdoor plaza, with an entrance to the 415 building.

Downtown Springfield fire aftermath 6-20-24 — The aftermath of a fire at a building on E. Adams St. in downtown Springfield on June 20, 2024.

"This is a painful thing for everyone in the Downtown area to go through, because things like this may intimidate shoppers and visitors, and so we are very anxious to get it moved forward," said Nickell.

David Fuchs, the Director of Public Works for the City of Springfield said Nickell has received approval to enter the 409/411 building a stabilize the walls. He noted that the city does not have any control over the timeline for this project and Adams Street will only be re-opened once demolition is complete and all buildings are stable.