Development planned for site of Keota fire

Keota was devastated by a fire last December that consumed the former lumberyard and two brick structures. Bill Miller, who owns Miller Autobody, one of the buildings that was damaged in the fire, has a plan to renovate that block on Main Street where the lumberyard once stood.

Miller has six lots on that block next to Miller Autobody. He plans to leave the lot east of his business vacant for the time being and build offices on the lots next to it. He said he?d like to see a business move into that space some day.

?The building will have two office spaces in the front facing Main Street and then the back will be rented out,? he said. ?I?m hoping someone will start a business. We would have something for them to check out and pursue.?

Miller said the building he has in mind would be 124 feet long. The front offices would take up 24 of those feet and the back area would take up another 100 feet.

?Each office space will be 24 feet deep and 40 feet wide,? he said. ?It should be a decent size for most businesses that want to get in there.?

He said he is confident he could find people willing to rent the space in the back.

?When the camping season is done, which is usually after Labor Day, people are looking for places to store their camper,? he said. ?They?ll store them until the middle of April when they get them back out. People do the same thing for boats.?

Miller said he expects a new building like that to be attractive to retail outlets looking for a place to call home.

He said that he has talked to someone who is interested in building a mechanics shop on two of the open lots. He said the shop would do engine repairs, transmission work and service work. He said the person who is interested said he would probably wait until spring before moving ahead with any construction. Miller said he is ready to start construction on his own building in February.

?I?m in the process of trying to get the ground leveled,? Miller said. ?Right now, what you see is the dirt and the cement that was left over. It?s pretty bare.?

Miller said that cleaning up after the fire was a real headache. He said he had to replace one whole side of his autobody shop and he had to replace a section of the roof. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) required Miller to treat the debris for asbestos, which was another expense.

?It has been a real eye-opening experience,? Miller said.

Miller said he is the only property owner he knows of who is redeveloping the block. Don Bermel owned Bermel Insurance, which once stood on the block but was destroyed by the December fire. Bermel lost nearly all of his belongings in the building. He said he does not plan to rebuild his insurance office in Keota. At the moment, he is running his business out of another building west of Keota and out of his home. He said he, too, had to treat his debris for asbestos. He said he began hauling it away in May and finished filling in the hole in August.