Three months after tornado, demo continues in Dresden
DRESDEN, Tenn. — Three months after a tornado struck a local town, their recovery has only just begun.
“The tornado traveled along the backside of those buildings and destroyed every building on that side. So every building on the south side of our square is being demolished, torn down and removed,” said Dresden Mayor Jeff Washburn.
Washburn says it’s sad to see the buildings go, but he looks forward to what is to come.
“A lot of historic buildings were over there. An old bank building that was being used for a supervision office, probation office, and a lot of old buildings, an old fire station that was over there. So it’s a sad event that we’re actually demolishing those buildings,” Washburn said.
Washburn says a lot of new buildings will be going up, but in a different way than before.
“Municipal complex there. That’s going to have our city hall, our meeting room, community room, combination which will also be a safe room. We’re also going to have our police department and fire department comprising them around 20,000 square feet of this area just to my left over here,” Washburn said.
He says it is devastating to see all of the homes, businesses and historic churches destroyed, but says what lies ahead is going to reshape the entire community.
“We’ve got a lot of hope for our future here in Dresden. We think it’s going to be a bright future, a better future for our community after the storm, after everything is repaired,” Washburn said.
Washburn says the rebuilding project will begin this summer. He says they hope to have the buildings complete in at least a year from then.
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