Description

Built in 1868, the three-story brick building at 504 East O&M Avenue is one of the North Vernon’s tallest downtown structures. Notable as the first location of J.R. Greathouse & Son’s Hardware, the building eventually became a warehouse for the business’s second location across the street. Greathouse closed its doors in 2017 after 85 years in operation. The commercial building occupies a prominent corner in North Vernon’s Downtown National Register Historic District and could be adapted for retail on the first floor with apartments above. Indiana Landmarks has completed interior structural work and clean-out and installed a new metal roof and made repairs to the building’s cornice, overhangs, and boxed gutters. The building is eligible for Federal Rehabilitation Tax credits as an income-producing property and Indiana’s Historic Renovation Grant Program administered through the Office of Community and Rural Affairs. The property will be sold subject to preservation covenants governing exterior rehabilitation and interior woodwork. The property includes a nearby city-owned vacant lot that could be used for off-street parking to support a new use in the building. The lot on which the building stands affords an opportunity for a sizable addition to expand the building’s footprint/square footage.