The single-storey Empress roller flour mill, built in 1890 on Queen St, is part of the history of the town's 35m-high concrete wheat silos, opened in 1921, and which are visible from as far away as State Highway 1.
Building owner Transport Waimate has served notice on the Waimate District Council the Empress building may have to be demolished.
That notice is a three-month process.
Transport Waimate's Barry Sadler said yesterday there were no plans at this stage to demolish the building.
He was concerned at its present condition and wanted to ensure he had approval rather than face a three-month process if something happened.
He also emphasised the notice only applied to the Empress building and not the silos, which were still used.
He would be open to approaches from the community to preserve the building, something which Waimate Mayor John Coles would like to see happen.
Mr Coles said the council would discuss the future of the building with Mr Sadler.
That could include discussing relocating Transport Waimate and developing the site around the building and silos, Mr Coles said.
When contacted yesterday, Mr Sadler there were issues with the building, including its structural safety, and he was not comfortable with the situation.
"At some stage it may have to be demolished. I don't want to be in the position of having a damaged building and having to wait three months under the system I have to work with.
"I'm basically circumventing the system," he said.
One of the reasons he had notified the council was to see if it or the community wanted to do something with the building.
"Before it falls down, it's much cheaper to do something now than later," he said.
The building had "no great financial advantage" to Transport Waimate and had not really been used for some years.
Mr Coles personally wanted the building saved and said the council needed to look at all the options.
The worst case scenario may be saving the facade and shifting it to the Bushtown heritage tourism venture the town was planning.
Mr Coles acknowledged the building was important to the town's history, particularly in its present location, because of its association with the silos, he said.
Waimate is renowned for its Edwardian buildings and the Empress flour mill building is one of the few left from the Victorian era.
Council staff are recommending any decisions be deferred at this stage pending discussions about the future of the building.
The Waimate Historical Society, Pro-Ject Waimate and New Zealand Historic Places Trust have all been asked for comment.
Responses have not yet been received from the society and trust.
However, Pro-Ject Waimate has told the council it is concerned about the removal of any heritage building, particularly those on the town's main street.
"We would encourage the council to meet the building's owners and look for other solutions to ensure retention of at least the facade if a new building was being planned for the site.
"It would be wonderful to see the building facade reused as the main office for the business owners," it said.
