25 Reasons Why Historic Buildings Should Not Be Demolished
Youngstown — Posted on February 1, 2009 at 12:02 pm
I have been looking through some old papers with friends today, and we ran across a paper titled “25 Reasons Why The McKelvey/Higbee Complex (Six Historic Buildings) Should Not Be Demolished.” As I read through the list and considered the historic buildings that continue to be demolished downtown, I thought it would be useful to publish the paper in full here.
I am a realist and understand the practical reasons buildings will be demolished, especially when the economic environment here continues to be so difficult. However, I am also an optimist in my hopes and desires for solutions to be found. I heard a story last week from a new friend about Akron mayor Plusquellic’s efforts to deal with city buildings. He basically turned over ownership of certain structures to the University of Akron and said, “You will take these buildings and put them to use. We’ll contribute funds to their renovation.” Part of what this paper identifies is the need for University student housing and the suitability of downtown buildings for this purpose.
Importantly, it also brings into the spotlight the mission of the CIC to preserve and reuse these structures, while so frequently it has turned them over to the development of surface parking. It also begs amazement that we have failed so far to establish any oversight over new demolition projects with all the experiences we’ve had in the past. Why is the recently demolished State Theater lot not filled in? There is a pit there, next to the beautifully renovated Davis Building, now filled with water.
25 Reasons Why The McKelvey/Higbee Complex (Six Historic Buildings) Should Not Be Demolished
Deemed Sound & Able To Be Renovated Cost Effectively
- The main buildings (the McKelvey Department Store) have been deemed sound and able to be cost effectively adapted by Jonathan Sanvick, Ohio’s most renowned historic architect.
- It is often less expensive to renovate than demolish and build new (the use of historic tax credits, historic easements, and the Alternative Building Code have made reclaiming old buildings profitable and many times millions of dollars less expensive than building new).
Economic Gains Through Preservation Not Demolition
- Tearing down useful, sound historic structures on your main street—particularly to build a surface parking lot—has a long-term negative economic impact, and an irreversible effect.
- Nationwide, there is not one example of economic development that has been gained in a downtown through demolition; in fact, just the opposite is true: demolition of historic buildings—which are the only economic & marketing edge that a downtown has—leads to disinvestment and the erosion of property values.
Economic Development & Jobs
Reclaiming the McKelvey Buildings Will:
- Create jobs during renovation for: architects, engineers, plasterers, roofers, plumbers, electricians, finishers, painters, restoration specialists, brick layers, concrete installers, landscape architects, insulation contractors, and installers of electronic equipment, doors & window, lighting, ADA equipment, elevators & escalators, fire suppression systems, concrete, furniture, & floors), and create ongoing jobs after renovation.
- Generate a substantial tax base.
- Greatly strengthen “historic district” classification of the downtown, creating advantages in generating equity for funding.
Negative Impact on Economic Development & Jobs
Demolition of the McKelvey Buildings Will:
- Create little or no longer-term jobs or tax base.
- Jeopardize federal funding for future use of that site because these buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places.
- Affect progress/traffic on downtown’s west end for at least six months
- Make it highly unlikely that any building will occupy that land again
(example: Palace Theater at the corner of Wick & Commerce, demolished into a parking lot with the intent of building something else there in the future—30 years ago)What We Currently Don’t Know & Why Demolition Is Premature
- There may well be a demand to reuse historic buildings as the SONET ring develops; also, YSU’s incoming president, David Sweet, is an urban developer and may well see promise in the McKelvey buildings and a usage for Youngstown State University.
- A proposal for development of these properties is on the table and bears research.
- The possibility of other developers for the McKelvey buildings may well exist, but the properties weren’t marketed in 1998, 1999 & 2000.
Need for Residential in the Downtown
- The university is in dire need of apartments for students, and these buildings can be adaptively re-used for apartments.
- Residential development is the first step in creating a 24-hour downtown by creating an immediate demand for retail & services, and these historic buildings have been deemed able to be cost-effectively renovated into apartments.
Parking
(parking is evidently the reason why the CIC wants to tear these buildings down)
- The $1.5 million allotted for the demolition of the McKelvey buildings is not site-specific and can be used for a parking lot or parking deck elsewhere.
- There are 500 daily parking spaces currently available on the east end of town, just four blocks away from the McKelvey buildings. (A visitor to the mall would walk this far from the parking lot to the center of the mall.)
- Surface parking lots should not be placed on the main street—people will avoid walking through a section of downtown that has no buildings; it feels unsafe and the pedestrian feels vulnerable.
Redeveloped McKelvey Buildings Would Set An Example
- The buildings have historic significance to the community and their adaptive reuse will strengthen the sense of place in the downtown—a sense of place & history provide a strategic advantage compared to other areas of the community in marketing the downtown.
- According to the Jan. 2000 Harwood Group report “Waiting for the Future: Youngstown”—we need more places for the community to gather. These buildings could be adapted for that use, or could possibly be adapted to house City Hall.
- Redeveloping these properties would provide a strong model of what can be done profitably with historic buildings, and thus help kick off a renaissance in downtown.
No Public Forum
- There has been no public process/forum in the past two years to discuss the future of the buildings.
The CIC’s Mission
- The CIC was formed to protect buildings in downtown Youngstown from demolition.
No Long-Term Plan for Downtown Revitalization
- There is no master 10-year plan for the redevelopment of our downtown—until there is, we cannot be certain which properties will be used for what purposes.
In a Vindicator article “15 picket outside Higbee complex in protest of the demolition project,” dated May 30, 2000, Mahoning Valley Historical Society director William Lawson—”one of the demonstration organizers”—is quoted, “We want to draw attention to the fact that demolition of buildings that we feel are still entirely usable is the wrong approach to revitalizing downtown.”
Lawson said he believes Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement Corp., which owned the complex until demolition began [at which point ownership transferred to the demolition company], has not actively marketed the building to developers who can use tax breaks and other tools to reuse the site.
He’s also concerned about what he called “a suburbanization” of the downtown in the destruction of its unique streetscape for surface parking.”
This “suburbanization” trend continued notably with the extension of the DeYor Center and the construction of the Ford Family Recital Hall. As we continue to lose street-abutting structures along West Federal and other streets, we rob downtown of its character and of an instinctual visual urging for pedestrians to stroll its length.
The Mahoning Valley Historical Society, thankfully, is restoring the Harry Burt/Ross Radio building. With this move, Lawson is aligning the Society’s resources with its “responsibility to present the entire history of the Valley.” Lawson hopes the project “will hopefully stimulate further redevelopment of the city’s core.”
The late Bob Fitzer, pictured above, likened downtown to the city’s smile and lamented the teeth that continued to be pulled from it, resulting in unsightly—and unhealthy—gaps.
I propose the surface parking in the city be replaced with green space and consolidated into decks sufficient to handle the demand. There are probably other options, but I see this as one way to attempt some good use from the legacy of destruction that has befallen and continues to curse our historic downtown.
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Tags: CIC, downtown, history, ysu
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7 Comments
It just comes down to what it always comes to-money. Conservation is dependent on monitored progress and lots of money. Youngstown, sadly, is not invested with much of either.
What I find odd is that I miss the structures I never saw: the Loveland Farmstead, the 19th century County Court building, Powerstown. All good friends that, despite their lack of form, still live on for me.
Your statements about Mayor Plusquellic are 100% incorrect. The Mayor has saved more than 50 historic properties in Akron in the 23 years that he has been Mayor. The City uses incentives to get develoipers to re-hab historic buildings in some cases. In other cases, historic tax credits are enough incentive to get developers to gravitate to certified historic structures. (The only property you can possibly be referring to is Quaker Square, which was purchased by the University in the middle of the night without consulting the city at all.)
E.A., thanks for your comments.
Anonymous, while admitting I haven’t done my own research, I’ll rely on my discussions with a confidant of the Mayor’s rather than your anonymous note. Feel free to provide your bona fides.
I sincerely hope that the city of Youngstown thinks first and saves important buildings that remain (like the Paramount Theater, and the former Grant’s store). Are there any strong voices for preservation that can help negotiate with the city, and with owners, to save and repurpose these buildings and others? Also, it seems to me that YSU has really not done much to help protect the architecture and history of the neighborhoods it swallows.
Quick question to anyone you may know–does the city really plan, with the best of intentions, to keep the facade of the Paramount theater intact (and does anyone know if they will also keep the Hazel Street street wall)? Thanks.
Last I heard, the facade will be preserved and the rest will be removed (presumably including the Hazel Street side) to create some kind of park/amphitheater facility. Not sure how reliable it is, but that’s the word as I know it.