Longhorn Building's Future Debated

A building in Kimball that has served many purposes over the past century is nearing a turning point. The former Longhorn Restaurant building has been accepted by the City of Kimball but has yet to change hands from the previous owners, the Perry family trust.

The matter was addressed during a meeting Monday, Dec. 10, with public and business owners in attendance, along with Matt Ashby, urban planner of Ayres Associates, as well as City Administrator Dan Dean, Special Projects Coordinator Amy Sapp and Kimball Mayor Keith Prunty.

Beginning with introductions, Ashby asked everyone in the room to share a memory or the historical building, or a thought of importance related to the building or prior companies that have been associated with its use.

Many spoke about the remembrance of the building in it’s most recent years as the Longhorn Restaurant. Others spoke about its time as a JC Penny’s retail store. Many comments regarded concerns about the condition of the empty lot if were torn down and how that would reflect on the downtown area.

A thought that was brought up by multiple people in attendance was converting the upstairs into apartments and using that as a source of income for the next potential buyer.

However, throughout this discussion, there were expressions of fear of renovations costing a large amount of money, and if it would be a good idea to use a large amount of funds.

Also during the discussion, there was a question if the community of Kimball is in need of a new retail store, and what does the latest news of Shopko closing its doors project to adding another retail store.

To close the meeting it was decided that a structural assessment would need to be done as the next step to determine if the building can even be repaired.

“While we understand the concern of the city and the taxpayers taking on this building, we also realize there is a cost of doing nothing,” Special Projects Coordinator Amy Sapp said. “At this time, there is not a private entity that has stepped up to take on this challenge. At this point something needs to be done. If the city does not take action on this property, it will impact our tax base, will have negative impacts on the thriving businesses next to the property, and will continue to have environmental contamination with the asbestos.

“Our hope is that by taking possession of the building, we can take care of the environmental hazards and either demolish the building or find someone to redevelop it,” he continued. “Although Kimball’s economic outlook appears bleak to many right now, within the new few years there is going to be growth with the missile project, and if we don’t take steps to improve our downtown it will have a negative impact on all businesses. We need to be proactive and progressive and make sure we are taking all steps possible right now to set up Kimball for success.”

City Administrator Dan Dean said, “This was a good discussion. We established some great ideas for utilizing the Longhorn building or the location.”