Royston Puts $75,000 Old Belk Demolition Bid on Hold

Royston City Council voted 5-1 on Nov. 10, 2025, to table for 60 days a $75,000 bid to demolish the collapsed old Belk Building at 6 and 12 Franklin Springs Street. The action postponed a decision on removing the damaged structure until the January 2026 council meeting while the city considered other proposals for the site.

The delay leaves two connected questions open for residents: whether the prominent Franklin Springs Street property will be cleared and how much Royston will ultimately spend to address it. Approving demolition could make way for a new use of the site, but the pause preserves time to consider whether restoration, replacement or another approach would better serve the property.

The issue reached council after a $75,000 demolition bid was placed before it for the collapsed building. Rather than choose that proposal, council members adopted a motion to set it aside for 60 days, a decision intended to allow evaluation of possible restoration or replacement proposals before the city commits to a course for the old Belk site.

Council’s recorded vote favored a temporary pause, with five members supporting tabling the matter and one opposing it. The council minutes identify the purpose of the delay as consideration of restoration or replacement proposals; they do not establish which alternative, if any, had official backing or whether the demolition bidder, property interests or other parties took a public position.

The only confirmed action is the November vote to table consideration of the bid. It was not an award of demolition work, a payment, or proof that demolition occurred. The record does not establish whether council later approved, changed, rejected or awarded the $75,000 proposal, nor whether a restoration, replacement or other plan advanced.

The next concrete public step is a Royston City Council record addressing the Franklin Springs Street property, potentially through renewed consideration of the $75,000 bid, a revised demolition proposal or a different plan. The 60-day tabling period pointed to the January 2026 meeting, but until a later action is recorded, the building’s fate, the selected proposal and the city’s final commitment remain undecided.