Like the town it was built in, the building that holds the law offices of Trinkle, Redman, Coton, Davis & Smith, P.A. has a long history.
The brick structure located in Historic Downtown Plant City was once Hillsboro State Bank. Opened as a bank in 1914, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
“I think it was the only bank in town that survived the Great Depression,” Danny Coton, a Trinkle Law attorney and part-owner of the building, said. He shares ownership of the building with Robert Trinkle and Conrad Swanson. “All the other banks closed.”
With 2016 coming to an end, the historic structure is getting a clean look for a new year.
Restoring Former Glory
During the summer, Coton was contacted by Jeff Hollis, a historical restoration specialist with Moisture and Masonry Maintenance LLC.
“I was contacted by the restoration company that had noticed issues about the re-mortaring,” Coton said.
To the best of Coton’s knowledge, the historic structure has never been fully re-mortared before.
The process, also known as repointing — which replaces the mortar between the bricks on a structure — is necessary on older buildings.
“Over time, the mortar deteriorates,” Coton said. “Some mortar can turn almost powder-like. It needs to be done periodically.”
In the past, the building has had issues due to water intrusion.
“It needed an overall cleaning,” Coton said. “Some areas had dark points.”
Prior to the re-mortaring, the building’s windows were repainted. The City of Plant City has encouraged business owners to routinely update their existing structures.
When Hollis approached Coton with the re-mortaring idea, Trinkle Law got the process approved by the local and state historic resources boards. The City of Plant City was happy with the law firm’s decision to invest in the upkeep of the national landmark.
“We are pleased the law firm chose to re-invest in their property because this location is so important to the hub of our downtown,” City Manager Mike Herr said. “Secondly, this building has an iconic historical significance to our community. It is far better for property owners to take their own action and improve a building than be required by local government to do so.”
The re-mortaring process began in June and is expected to be completed within a few weeks.
“We’ve been really pleased with what (Jeff Hollis) has done,” Coton said. “Hopefully he’ll do some more of the buildings in town. He’s done a really good job for us. He doesn’t rush through things.”
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.