Debris protection wall completed on former Citizens Bank building in downtown Jonesboro

Jonesboro Mayor Harold Copenhaver and other city officials have met with structural engineer Jordan Lane and other building professionals at the former Citizens Bank Building on Main Street. Engineers first identified structural concerns three weeks ago when a bulge was detected in one of the building’s walls The recommended debris protection wall to protect the First Horizon Building across the street has been completed.

A timeline for repairing the building has not been released. The Main Street entrance adjacent to the building has been closed to through traffic.

“Currently, plans are being laid out to stabilize the Citizens Bank Building precast sections and panels, “ Copenhaver said. “City officials are working with engineers on the design of that work, and we expect to have the plan early next week, along with an estimated timeline for completion.”

The city will also send the cost estimate of the stabilization work to the parties associated with the property, as well as with a prompt deadline to obtain a firm under contract for the prescribed work.

“Any city funds spent on the project will be documented and billed to the building owners, “ Copenhaver said. “Our primary concern is making the building safe, supporting downtown businesses and getting that intersection reopened. If the building owners do not take the immediate recommended action, the city will.”

The longtime, vacant structure has long been the center of discussion regarding the downtown area. It is currently part of private litigation that city officials had hoped would shed some light on its future after more than two decades of various redevelopment discussions and ideas.

“For years the city has been hamstrung on our legal authority to force action on this building,” Copenhaver said. “Despite being an eyesore, the building was deemed by independent engineers to be structurally sound – but that may no longer be the case.”