A building that formerly housed one of Danville’s manufacturing mainstays has sold to a local businessman.
Brian Jones, owner of Keystone Industrial in Junction City, bought the old Palm Beach building on Stanford Avenue at auction from its Lexington-based ownership group for $80,000. Jones said he intends to make the property suitable for several types of operations.
“We want to bring her back to life,” Jones said.
The 50,000-square-foot brick building is about 70 years old. It was used for decades by the Palm Beach factory but had several tenants before Federal Signal, which closed at the end of 2008.
The facility has sustained serious damage over the last several years, though, including the theft of copper and wiring earlier this year. A Boyle County couple were arrested in July for their part in stripping thousands of dollars worth of copper and wiring.
Jones said the first order of business will be restoring the facility to its previous condition, which will begin soon. He hopes to have the building ready for tenants as early as April 15.
After that, Jones is exploring leasing options that include office space and warehouse space. He also has talked to someone about using a portion of the building for a photography studio.
“I have been approached by a number of people already,” Jones said. “I think I will be able to populate it relatively quickly.”
Jones has some experience renovating aged buildings.
In 2007, he bought the old Jim Pyle building, a similarly styled two-story, brick building off Shelby Street in Junction City now occupied by Keystone Industrial. Jones has been restoring the structure since then, mostly concentrating on refurbishing the inside.
Keystone, which started in 2003, does industrial electrical work, steel fabrication, tooling and a variety of other industrial work.
