A new heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) unit was placed Tuesday morning on the roof of the Security Savings Bank Building at 1102 Willis Ave., which houses several departments of city government as well as the school district administrative offices.
A towering crane was erected in the westbound lane of Willis Avenue and used to remove the old HVAC unit and place the new unit. The job was planned for Monday but postponed due to high winds.
The Security Savings Bank building was built in 1913 at a cost of $16,000. The city of Perry acquired the property in 1928, and the basement and ground floor housed the city hall, police department and city jail through until 1979, when the Perry Public Safety Building at 908 Willis Ave. was acquired, and the old bank and fire station were sold to private interests.
Town benefactors Howard and Roberta Ahmanson bought the Security Savings Bank in the early 1990s, when they also acquired the Hotel Pattee, Carnegie Library, David J. Pattee house at Fourth and Warford streets and other properties. The HVAC system was installed when the building was renovated in 2000.
The city of Perry bought back the building in 2008 for $800,000 from the Ahmansons, who also gave the Carnegie Library Museum as a gift to the city at that time along with $60,000 for one year’s maintenance.
