Cuyahoga County bought the Cleveland Trust Company Building, Cleveland Trust Tower, Swetland Building, and two other adjacent structures for $21.7 million ($ in dollars) in September 2005. Initially, the county intended to turn the complex into a new home for county government. The county considered demolishing the Cleveland Trust Tower, but refused to alter the Cleveland Trust Company Building. County commissioners voted to demolish the tower in April 2006. The county hired the Cleveland architectural firm of Robert P. Madison International and the New York City-based firm of Kohn Pedersen Fox to design a replacement building for the Breuer tower. Their concept, revealed in June 2007, proposed a 15-story glass-enclosed tower that would isolate the Cleveland Trust Company Building on the corner. The county commissioners reversed their decision to demolish the tower on June 15, 2007. Meanwhile, the county spent about $13 million removing asbestos from the building and purchasing the adjacent Oppmann parking garage.
