© Frank H. Jump
The Sullum’s building, a 135 year fixture of downtown, is getting a serious makeover.
The building has already been stripped bare on the inside. The new owners, Stephen Smith and Michael Morris of Smith and Morris Holdings, Inc., have pulled out everything, including about a half ton of old knob and tube wiring, all the building’s plumbing, 20,000 pounds of old, moldy clothing, five pickup trucks full of useful clothes donated to area churches, and 90,000 pounds of debris.
The project, which will cost roughly $500,000 before it’s finished, brings new meaning to the word renovation, Morris says.
“We’re not bringing this building into the twentieth or twenty-first century. We’re shooting straight for the twenty-second century.” he said as he led an improptu tour through the gutted building.
By the time it’s all said and done, Morris says the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certified building will have three vertical wind turbines on the roof — the first of their kind in the nation — that will provide 75 kilowatts of power to the high tech, highly efficient operations inside.
“Right now,” Morris explained, “Wayne County is largely blue collar. We want to bring some white collar, high technology jobs into the area, and we want to start training people to do those jobs right here.” – Josh Wengler, Wayne Independent.com
