Urgency for tenants follows sale of the old Butler high school

The old Butler high school gym will no longer be open to the Adrian Community Theater and others, including civic groups, leaving all to find another location with the same or similar offerings

While some exciting news came this week that the old Butler high school will be under new ownership, it comes with a rather disheartening caveat- those who currently use the building will need to find a new home. And fast.

For a good number of years, the 3-story brick structure at 212 W. Pine street provided the perfect place for several groups including the Old High School Thrift Store,  the Comforting Angel Quilters, a meeting place for Alcoholics Anonymous and the Adrian Community Theater, to name a few.

All of which recently got marching orders, as they must completely move out before December 21st; and while it is understood that this is how life goes, these groups are now scrambling to relocate with no viable solutions at the moment.

Flipside, Mid America Live spoke with Butler City Administrator Mark Mathies regarding the issue who said that he symphonizes with those displaced and the city will continue to work to present as many options possible. In the meantime, the aging structure will now receive much needed structural upgrades as well as providing additional living space in Butler.

He reiterated that prior to the sale, it was going to cost hundreds of thousands to fix the old school. About the same to just tear it down- either way, the city was not prepared to bear those costs. The only viable option was to sell it with plans for the new owner rehab their investment, which will be done, according to information released this week.

Lylah Linard

Regardless, time is running out for the current tenants. Mid America Live also spoke with Lylah Linard who spoke on behalf of the Old High School Thrift Store. "This is a desperate situation for us. We have no place to go and our only option is to liquidate as much inventory as possible in preparation either way."

Linard went on to say that wherever the Old High School Thrift Store ends up, it will need to offer quite a bit of space as their current operation requires several rooms in the southeast lower corner of the old high school. 

A peek in the windows during our visit with Lylah indicated the same may be true for other displaced tenants as well. All said, it appears the others, primarily the quilt shop and theater group, are scrambling as well according to Facebook and other social media posts.

In the meantime, Mathies said that anyone who owns a location that would consider space for any of these groups can contact city hall for more information.

A new location for the Comforting Angel Quilters is urgently needed as well

#MidAmericaLive