Repair work has begun on the former Bracken’s Shopping Center building at Midland Plaza, but the building’s future is yet to be determined.
Last week’s tornado damaged the building, and Keith Edwards, the city’s community development officer, said on Monday that the biggest threat to public safety is the awning around the building. Edwards said it would not have been safe to let customers of the businesses or patients of the dentist’s office to walk under the awning.
He said the rest of the building is relatively safe, but there was damage to the roof.
“The building is not condemned at this point,” Edwards said. He added, “The roof damage will eventually take its toll on the building” if it isn’t repaired.
A structural engineer inspected the building last week and submitted a report to Edwards, who said the report has been forwarded to the Cohn Development Company of Peoria, which owns the shopping center.
