Historic building downtown faces partial demolition
See-through roof at Smith Building
June 3. By Dave Yochum. There may be no saving a historic downtown building whose roof collapsed earlier this week. State inspectors yesterday directed the property owner to remove the second story.
Owner Corner Oak LLC could not be reached for comment, but they are consulting with contractors and Mecklenburg County as to how the second floor can be safely removed and what is required as far as demolition permitting. 
The building at 21320 Catawba was built around the turn of the 20th century. It sits on a little less than a half acre, separated by an empty lot from the new Cain Center for the Arts. Known as the Smith Building, it has been unoccupied for years.
Reader Tim Wally said his grandfather ran a grocery store in the building from the 1940s to the 1960s known as Mayhew’s Grocery.
Deteriorated exterior wall
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Obviously, it did not just get this way – so why did the Town of Cornelius allow
the owners to get away with not keeping a building in good, safe repair. Are there not rules and regulations in place for maintaining public buildings or buildings that are historic? The crumbling wall [in the photo] and the collapsed roof must have been evident to the officials of the town – it is near the Town Office!
I think there are contradictions in this report. The Mayhew Grocery store and the Smith Building were separate buildings.
I have watched this building for 4 years. About a year ago of so after it was sold, I noticed by looking through the windows that the roof had come down. It sat there for a good while and now it has completely fallen in. I think this is nothing more than an affordable/less public outcry way to demolish this building in order to make way for what the new owners want to replace it with.