The City of Vandalia officially owns the former Kroger building.
At the Vandalia City Council meeting last week–the first meeting of 2026–Mayor Doug Knebel thanked City Attorney Ryan Connor and his team for their work in getting some last minute changes completed with the property by the December 31st deadline.
The City has gotten the building donated by the former owners. At the time of that announcement, Mayor Doug Knebel said there was something potentially in the works at that time but he couldn’t discuss any more details just yet. Some were a bit critical with not getting more details. Speaking on our podcast “Talking about Vandalia,” Mayor Knebel says sometimes you have to keep the information vague until it becomes finalized. He also makes a pledge to Vandalia citizens.
The building has remained vacant since Kroger closed their location in 2005.
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