MECCA, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – The Mecca Schoolhouse is on its way to being restored after an engineer completed an 18-page report of the building following a devasting fire last year.
Officials with the building and the city said they received the report a few weeks ago. The engineer originally came out on the day of the fire on November 10th.
On Tuesday, Service Master of Indianapolis, a restoration company, came out to tour the building and help give city leaders a better idea of how to move forward.
“Their first goal right now is getting all of the debris out of the building on all levels of it and to help us develop and devise a plan to do that and their second phase is taking measurements today so they can start putting together a plan of action to keep the water out of the building,” Scott Simpson, Secretary of the Alliance Representing A Building Savior (ARABS), said.
Simpson said according to the report, the building will cost between $1.5 to $2 million to fix.
As we previously reported, the first and second floors did not suffer as much damage as the third floor, where the fire started.
Having no roof has caused the building a lot of issues. The floor on the second level is a sheet of ice because of the rain and the freezing temperatures in the building.
Despite the large price tag, Simpson said most of what was in the engineering report, was stuff they were already told or assumed.
“It pretty much followed what we had told us. The building, the original structure that was built in 1901 is in excellent condition considering it went through a fire. It is still sturdy and strong. All of the main points are there and are in place and providing good bones for us,” Simpson said.
Simpson said he and other town officials are currently working on applications for different grants.
He said he also hopes to hold more community cleanup days in the future to help get rid of the debris and other items.
