The historic Rinkert Building in downtown Canton was auctioned off Wednesday. At 10 stories, the more than a century-old office tower was Canton’s first "skyscraper."
The winning bid of just under a million dollars came from the Canton Downtown Land Bank. Michael Gill is director of the Canton Development Partnership, which includes the private, non-profit land bank. He says the building will likely be converted into residential use with ground-floor retail space.
He says there may also be an opportunity to take advantage of the structure’s history and unique character.
“This could really be part of the attributes that we have to lure people who come to see the Hall of Fame Village, for example, to come downtown to visit our bars and restaurants and our arts district and so on.”
When the building was erected in 1910 by Metropolitan Brick Company of Canton, the city had just become the No. 1 producer of paving bricks in the world. And, the building remains robust despite its years, because it was built with paving bricks.
Gill also says that while the land bank will hold title to the property for now, the plan is for developers and private investors to eventually take it over.
“We’re very eager to take something like this, in its state presently, and talk to other people about what this really could be and how it could really engage our community. We really envision other people, other organizations carrying out the plan.”
