HUTCHINSON – After a public hearing Tuesday, the Hutchinson City Council agreed to tear down the old Sugar Mill building in the 600 block of East First.

The building suffered a partial collapse in February, and owner Ted Robinson wants to tear down the rest of the structure.

“You know I hate to see the building get torn down, honestly. But, at this point, I don’t see that there are any other options. I don’t have the funds to correctly rebuild it,” he said.

The cost to repair the structure would come to around $204,000, but to bring the structure to the point that it would be usable space is estimated to be around $2 million, according to statements made by officials at the meeting.

There was some discussion of trying to save some of the materials from the building that could be used to remember it. Robinson was open to the suggestion and said he would work with the Landmarks Commission.

The council was left with the decision to take action since the Landmarks Commission cannot authorize such demolition, since the building is on the list of historic buildings. The council also voted to remove the structure from that list.