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Chuck Bennett is relieved. He knows that everything is going to work out for Salem’s Courthouse Square Building, a multimillion-dollar construction debacle.

The Salem city councilor knows this because business is picking up at Casey’s Cafe down the street.

Maryland-based on Monday was awarded a $22.9 million contract to repair the Courthouse Square Building, which served as a transit mall and held county offices until failures relating to project oversight and structural defects led to its evacuation in 2010.

Casey Campbell said business at his restaurant dropped 26 percent when 300 county employees were scattered to buildings across the city.

鈥淐asey’s is sometimes my barometer of how things are going downtown,鈥� said Bennett, who represents downtown Salem on the city council. 鈥淚 figure if it’s good for Casey, it’s good for downtown.鈥�

Structural’s contract stipulates that work begin immediately on the building at 555 Court St. N.E.

鈥淪ure enough, here come eight guys yesterday in orange hard hats 鈥� all big eaters,鈥� Campbell said.

Courthouse Square Building problems have plagued Marion County and Salem-Keizer Transit District officials for 12 years.

鈥淥verall, it’s just been 鈥� what’s the word 鈥� a 鈥榙ifficult’ situation,鈥� said county spokeswoman Jolene Kelley.

The $34 million building was unveiled in 2000. Problems developed a few years later. Floors began to sag. Walls began to separate from windows. Transit district board member Jerry Thompson remembers staffers being able to toss paper clips between the windows and walls.

Thompson is taking a philosophical view of the $22.9 million project to repair a $34 million building.

鈥淭he building would cost at least $50 million to build in today’s money,鈥� he said.

Some of the worst damage associated with the building, Thompson said, has been the erosion of public trust. The structure has become a monument to government bungling.

鈥淚 think we’re going to gain some ground here,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e’re going to have the safest building in Salem when we’re done.鈥�

He added that people have a right to be perturbed.

鈥淚f it was built right in the first place, we wouldn’t have these problems,鈥� he said.

City officials are not involved in the project.

鈥淪alem is involved in that we own property within the city, and they certainly have an interest, but this is a county and transit district project,鈥� Kelley said.

鈥淲e have a whole city block with a chain-link fence around it,鈥� Bennett said. 鈥淲e’re definitely pleased to see something being done.鈥�

However, he added that city officials remained concerned about the north block of the transit mall.

鈥淎ll that’s there now is a tree and a pot,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat’s an awful lot of downtown property that’s not being used. It can’t even be used as a parking lot.鈥�

Originally, some kind of development was planned on the block, once occupied by the Senator Hotel.

鈥淭he Senator Hotel at least represented a use for housing,鈥� Bennett said. 鈥淭here was talk of using the north block for affordable housing. That’s off the table, and that’s discouraging.鈥�

County and transit officials understandably face bigger problems at the moment, he said.

鈥淗owever, we’re going to continue to press the county on this piece of property,鈥� he added.

The reconstruction contract was awarded during a joint meeting between county and transit officials. Structural Preservation Systems was selected in April, but details prolonged negotiations, Thompson said.

鈥淎fter all we’ve been through, we didn’t want to mess around,鈥� he said.

Work on the project should take about 19 months.

鈥淚t’s a really, really nice building 鈥� on the outside,鈥� Thompson said. 鈥淭hey’re probably not going to do that much to the outside.鈥�

The interior is an entirely different story, Kelley said, because of numerous structural problems.

鈥淲e have volumes and volumes of reports on that,鈥� she said.

Campbell said the Courthouse Square Building has sort of bombed the middle of Salem. Some businesses went under, he said. His was not one of them, however. Campbell started his business as a street cart, and it has grown into one of the more popular eateries in downtown Salem.

鈥淲e’ve been here for 35 years,鈥� Campbell said. 鈥淲e’re survivors.鈥�

Nonetheless, he added that he is glad to see life return to the neighborhood. It’s too important, he said, to be dominated by an abandoned 163,000-square-foot transit mall and office complex.

鈥淚 love my downtown,鈥� he said.