Hinesville’s downtown will look different shortly as one edifice comes down slowly.
The building that is adorned with the KC Flowers and Gifts and the JC Penney Catalog Merchant signs — and that has been empty for years — is being demolished methodically, after a recent storm led to a roof collapse.
RTS Homes, which owns the building — which also sits adjoining the RTS Homes’ office on Main Street, will be demolishing the structure carefully over the next couple of weeks, said Trevor Sikes of RTS Homes.
“We knew it had significant structural issues when we bought it,” Sikes said. “There were years of deterioration and termite damage and rot. We knew what was going on when we first bought it, but the unfortunate event of the storm accelerated the whole situation. It’s become more of a public safety issue and we’re looking to get this thing taken care of and get it on the ground.”
A storm last week dumped as much as five inches of rain on parts of Hinesville, and the building’s roof finally gave away under the deluge.
“We knew the place was not completely stable. We didn’t realize it was going to collapse,” Sikes said. “We knew there were significant issues, but we knew we needed to secure it with our office being next to it, too. The storm accelerated the process, so here we are.”
In the interest of safety, Sikes said the building will be torn down but it won’t come down at once.
“We’re going to have to take our time with it,” he said. “We might have to go brick by brick. It just depends. It could definitely take up to two weeks.”
The building was home for years to Elam’s Photography, before that longstanding Hinesville establishment shuttered. The building dates back to 1943, and RTS Homes bought it four years ago.
Sikes said he and his architects will meet to discuss what to do with the site for the long term.
“We want to do something that will benefit the city of Hinesville and downtown,” he said. “We’re working on these decisions right now, looking at all the different possibilities. Our goal isn’t just to replace the building — it’s to make sure that whatever we do is something we’ll be proud of 50 years from now. We’ll let the design process guide that decision.”
