DENISON, TX-A century old building that crumbled into the streets of downtown Denison will not stand for much longer. The city council made their decision about the building's future at Tuesday's meeting.

The Katy Antiques Station came crashing down three years ago. Since then, it's been an eyesore for downtown and a heated topic of debate. Now, city officials said it's time to tear it down.

Denison resident Keneth Hailey passes by the Katy Antique Station everyday and he said it's not a pretty sight.

"It's an eyesore, yeah, and plus we can't walk that way no more and we have to walk around those big bricks and stuff like that. It's a real eyesore," he said.

Almost three years after one of its walls collapsed, Hailey hoped the city would do something about the pile of crumbling brick and cement.

"Tear it down. It's great to tear it down because I don't need to pass it anymore. It's obviously worn," he said.

Denison city officials decided to do just that at Tuesday night's council meeting.

"What we've agreed to do is demolish or cause the building to be demolished, have a contract let by November 1st, of course that's a pretty fast timeline. I think we have probably to pass the first of the year to have the whole thing down."

City Manager Robert Hanna said the Katy Antique Station posed a safety issue for those who live and work near it. He said people have been breaking into the unsecured building, despite the city putting up barricades and fencing to keep them out.

"We need to get rid of that thing. We need to make it so we're not endangering the lives of our kids by having that there. It's not safe and we need to take it down," he said.

Because the building has been a part of downtown Denison for 138 years, Hanna said they will make an effort preserve parts of the structure.

"It's a shame, it's a real shame. It had beautiful architectural elements in that and our hope is that we'll able to in the demolition process, preserve and save some of those," he said.

Hanna said the city is working with the property owner and other vendors who used the building to remove their property before demolition.
The Katy Antique Station will be torn down by January.

The property owner had no comment.