Now that fire has damaged the Worsley's building so badly it will have to be torn down, attention is turning to what will happen with that city property.

The building at 161 N. Main St. was heavily damaged by a seven-hour fire Friday afternoon and night. Butler Fire Chief Nick Ban said he would condemn it and recommend it be torn down for safety reasons.

Keri Dolan, a co-own of Worsley's, said she will meet with Chief Ban and city code enforcement officer John Evans to discuss how to proceed. It is her understanding that the building will have to be torn down.

It wasn't immediately clear how or when that would take place. The building is insured, Dolan said.

Mayor Tom Donaldson said he believed tearing down the building would cost in excess of $100,000, and the entire situation injects uncertainty into the daily lives of city officials and business owners.

“Obviously we're disappointed and saddened,” said Michael Monday, co-owner of Monday's Boots & Shoes at 208 N. Main St., near Worsley's. “The opportunity was there. It (the building) had such great bones. All it needed was a younger group of people with a little bit of creativity.”

Monday said his concerns ranged from the impact of tearing the building down — how long it might take and whether streets would need to be shut down and traffic limited — to how the building's destruction could impact long-term planning for Main Street.

Ron Fudoli of Fudoli's Music at 142 S. Main St., remains optimistic about the possibility of development at the site.

“You feel bad for the people, absolutely. You want Main Street to fill up a little bit, like the old days,” Fudoli said. “If they're going to take it (the building) down, there'll be a vacant lot, and somebody'll build something there.”

The loss of this building will make the third vacant corner lot on Main Street.