Gilbert is restoring a downtown building, hoping to have it completed by the new year.

The Old Bank building, located at 201 Main St. in Gilbert, is being fully restored and renovated, with the town, which owns the nearly century-old building, looking to retain its original characteristics as it readies the space to once again serve a purpose for the municipality of nearly 600 in western Lexington County.

Mayor John Reeder III told the Chronicle that his brother’s remodeling business, John Reeder Remodeling, is renovating the building for free, with the town only being responsible for paying the sub-contractors.

According to Reeder, without the donations they have received from his brother and sub-contractors in the area, the renovation would cost about $170,000 compared to the roughly $75,000 the town is currently paying.

“It's a great feeling that people care enough about our history and our heritage here to try to hang on to these buildings,” the mayor said. “Thousands and thousands of people went through Gilbert High School and they didn't want to see it torn down.”

While the town hasn’t settled on a new use for the building, Reeder told the Chronicle that the idea of it becoming the new Town Hall has been floating around.

The mayor has donated a lot of his time to the renovation, as he works for his brother's company, emphasizing that he is doing all work on the building for free to avoid it being a conflict of interest with his role as mayor.

“That’s one of the oldest buildings that the town owns and in the town right now,” Reeder said. “So I wanna try and save it.”

The mayor told the Chronicle that since the beginning of construction in July, they have completed electrical, plumbing, heating and air. 

Next steps for the building involve installing windows, adding framing to make sure the building is up to code, making the bathroom handicap-accessible, along with drywall and painting. Reeder said it looks like they will be able to save and restore the building's ceramic tile floors. 

Following the completion of the bank building, Reeder said they plan to renovate the building next to it,  which used to be the Rainbow Dairy Bar in the 1970s. The mayor explained that the building hasn’t been used for anything since due to a bad roof.

“We're not losing another piece of history,” Reeder said.