Efforts by the city of Meridian to strip the old Meridian Police Station of its Mississippi Landmark status are facing a setback after the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Board of Trustees last week rejected the city’s request.

In its application, dated Oct. 4, 2023, the city asked MDAH to remove the Landmark status so that efforts to demolish the dilapidated building can begin.

“The city of Meridian respectfully requests the removal of the Mississippi Landmark Designation from the former city of Meridian Police Station, which they intend to demolish in the future,” the application states.

More than 200 residents interested in historic preservation and modernist architecture signed onto a petition and submitted public comments leading up to the MDAH Trustees’ quarterly meeting on Jan. 19 urging the board to keep the building from being knocked down.

While it is designated as a Mississippi Landmark, any projects involving the old police station must be submitted to and approved by MDAH before work can begin. Plans to either demolish or renovate the structure will have to go through the MDAH approval process and comply with the state’s historic preservation guidelines.

In a written statement Wednesday, MDAH Director of Historic Preservation Barry White said Trustees opted to deny the city’s application to give efforts to save the building some more time.

“The Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History denied removal of Mississippi Landmark status for the former Meridian police station during its regular meeting in Jackson on Jan. 19, 2024,” White said. “The board’s decision will give time for ongoing preservation efforts with the city and preservation groups to find an alternative path to demolition.”

Mayor Jimmie Smith on Thursday said restoring the building will require a large investment as mold and other issues from sitting empty have caused significant damage.

“If someone buys the building, it’ll take a whole bunch of money to fix it,” he said.

The police station, which was designed and built in 1977 in what was formerly a laundry, was granted status as a Mississippi Landmark in 2015 due to its architectural significance as a work of modernism. It was designed by Chris Risher Sr., a Meridian native, architect and one of the state’s most well known modernists.

Meridian Police Department vacated the building in 2013 when officers relocated to the new police station on 22nd Avenue. The city has courted several potential buyers for the structure but has failed to close the deal. The building has sat vacant ever since and has sustained significant water damage and vandalism.

An Aug. 2022 letter from then city Chief Administrative Officer Tim Miller to MDAH explains the city originally sought the Landmark status to open up further avenues of funding to make repairs to the building. That funding did not materialize and the repairs were never made.

The old police station has been an ongoing issue that spans multiple city administrations, Smith said, and something needs to be done to address it.

“We’ve been dealing with this thing for quite some time, and I would hope it doesn’t impede the progress downtown,” he said.

Smith said the city’s next steps aren’t immediately clear, but he does not believe giving up is an option.