Leaks lead to roof repair at former Crowell-Collier building

“They are doing some roof work because of leaks in the building,” he said.

Mosier’s lawyer Scott D. Phillips said the company is still working through the lawsuit and declined to comment further.

The Crowell-Collier complex of buildings was once the single largest structure in Springfield. At 900,000-square-feet, it filled an entire city block. It now sits at about 400,000-square-feet after some of the buildings were torn down.

It was home to the world’s largest magazine publishing company but the printing plant closed in 1956. Later it was bought in 1972 by Harry Denune for his motorcycle parts business called Dixie Distributing Co.

It then became an eyesore and a safety hazard. The building caught fire in 1999 and again later in 2011. Bricks fell from the structure in 2009. The city pad-locked the doors several times.

In 2011, the building was sold to Mosier Industrial Services for $1.5 million.

The city has been in court with the owners, first Denune and then Mosier, since the bricks fell off to force them to make the buildings safe. Strozdas has called the structure a “significant threat to public safety.” That lead to a plan to demolish three of the buildings in the complex.

The city of Springfield filed a complaint with the court in 2015 against Mosier, claiming the demolition wasn’t moving fast enough. The city and Mosier agreed to a $1 million security bond to ensure demolition would be completed.

Much of the demolition work has been done and the debris cleared, the buildings now standing with the smokestack between them.

But the Crowell-Collier building still isn’t in compliance, Strozdas said, andthe building was to be completely patched up by last fall.

Many broken and missing windows also remain, a violation of the city’s property maintenance code.

Crews on Wednesday also could be seen making repairs to the bricks and mortar on the building.

But Strozdas said he doesn’t anticipate having to return to court soon.

The former publishing company sits in a prime spot in downtown Springfield, city and business leaders have said.

Mosier has listed the property for sale. The company previously said they want to either sell it or would work with a buyer for redevelopment purposes.