A downtown Springfield high-rise office building that has stood for nearly a century is now sitting vacant… and its future is uncertain.
The 12-story building at 5th and Monroe once housed the Ridgely Farmers State Bank, the only Springfield bank to fail during the Great Depression. It has in recent years housed state offices, but the last state tenant moved out months ago.
City officials say the building has been “voluntarily vacated,” but say that various “life-safety” issues, including its non-functioning elevators, would have to be addressed before occupancy would be permitted again.
