For more than a year and a half, the former Tipton's Foodland building at 320 Jefferson St. has sat as an empty shell, a reminder of what once was.

Soon, it could become a key example of what could be.

Bob Clyse, owner of Bob Clyse Pontiac-GMC Inc., purchased the building last week from the Tipton family. The local businessman bought the approximately 19,000 square foot building in a partnership that is separate from his auto dealership though any future use will likely have ties to the automotive industry.

"We have several ideas surrounding automotive uses, but we are also considering sharing the building with one or two other businesses," Clyse said. "That is yet to be determined."

Like many other people with an interest in Ironton's future, Clyse had held out hope that a grocery store would reopen in the building because Tipton's had been a staple of the Ironton business community for 68 years. Sadly, that dream never came to pass.

"I think it would have been great to have seen it reopen as a grocery store but it became obvious in the past few weeks that it wasn't going to reopen as that, especially with two Super Wal-Marts developing nearby," Clyse said. "Of course, the Tipton's family business was, and still is, missed. They are an extremely well respected business family."

If all goes well, something will be up and running at that location within a year. Depending on how some renovations go, maybe a lot sooner, Clyse said.

"We (think) the property has great location and it will only get better when the new bridge comes in a few years," Clyse said, adding that his auto dealership does have limited lot space. "We are being open minded on the uses. The building has a lot of potential - automobile related."

Mayor John Elam was pleased to see another vacant building disappear and feels confident that whatever goes in will be successful.

"I think is is another feather in Ironton's cap," he said.

"People are seeing the revitalization and redevelopment efforts being put forth in Ironton."

Clyse agrees that this is just one of the many positive things that are starting to happen in Ironton.

"The public needs to understand there are strong undercurrents of optimism and possibilities within our community, despite what their perceptions might be," Clyse said. "We need to think less about (the present) being the beginning of the end for this community and look at it as the end of the beginning. We need to get on with the future for this city."