Commissioners aim to save landmark South Bend building

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - A century-old office building in South Bend that boasts a soaring indoor atrium will be getting a structural assessment as part of efforts to save the historic building from possible demolition.

The St. Joseph County commissioners voted 2-1 Tuesday to hire a company to conduct structural, architectural and environmental reviews of the 115-year-old Lafayette Building. Those assessments won't exceed $25,000.

Historic Preservation Commission executive director Elicia Feasel says the assessments are needed and without them the neoclassical-style building's worsening condition could spiral out of control.

The South Bend Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/2aCQtsJ ) that the building has a limestone and terra cotta facade and an enclosed atrium inside with balconies that spans the entire five stories to a glass roof.

Feasel calls the building's interior an "architectural marvel."

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Information from: South Bend Tribune, http://www.southbendtribune.com