Bloomington’s Historic Preservation Commission begrudgingly cleared the way Thursday for three downtown buildings to be demolished to make room for redevelopment.
Commissioners voted to dub two of the three buildings – Front N Center and the Elks Lodge – as historically significant. But they also declined to formally oppose the buildings’ demolition, citing their poor condition and years of failed attempts to bring them back to life.
The commissioners did so reluctantly. They said they felt their hands were tied – and that the City of Bloomington missed its chance years ago to save the buildings through decades of inaction.
“The demolition of this thing – if that happens – it’s not on the developer. It’s not on this commission. It’s on the leadership on the City of Bloomington who have failed to protect their historic properties,” said Greg Koos, a commissioner and local historian. (Koos recused himself from the votes because he has a financial conflict of interest with the developers involved.)
Added commissioner John Elterich: “The city didn’t do their job, and now we have to pay for it.”
The city announced in February that it had reached a deal with the property owners (the Huffs) to finally address a cluster of three rundown buildings on downtown’s south side. A developer plans buy all three buildings, demolish them, turn them into 140 new parking spaces, and sell the properties to the City of Bloomington. Those properties would then theoretically be ripe for redevelopment. The city has referred only vaguely to “maintaining flexibility for a future mixed-use development.”
The city council has already approved the plan, though the next step – demolition – gave the Historic Preservation Commission a chance to weigh in too.
One of the developers, Robbie Osenga, told the commission that this is not “demolition for the sake of convenience.” The goal, he said, is to “spark greater investment and renewed energy and a stronger commitment to historic preservation in the years ahead.”
“We do not take pride or joy in seeing buildings come down,” Osenga said. “But also know that we truly believe that our continued efforts downtown will ultimately bring about good, bring about redevelopment, bring about reinvestment, and a renewed sense of hope.”
Indeed, a fourth building nearby – the former People’s Bank building, aka Commerce Bank building – will not be demolished. Osenga’s development group negotiated a deal with the same property owner to donate that building to the city to be rehabbed into a future housing development.
Commissioners reviewed a packet full of research about the fascinating history of each building, much of it gathered by commission chair Sarah Lindenbaum.
The Front N Center building came to life in 1919 as the Newmarket Building, designed by the same architect as the old Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The Elks Lodge was built in 1916 as a showroom for a new consumer good called the automobile. The resilient third building on Center Street was one of the rare survivors on that block of the Great Fire of 1900 in Bloomington.
A portion of the Elks Lodge’s historic façade will live on. The developers plan to essentially carve out and leave behind a corner of the façade at the corner of Madison and Washington streets – a monument of sorts to the building’s historic place on Bloomington’s original auto row.
“It comforts me to know there’s a path forward to keep something from it,” said commissioner Mark Adams. (Their decision not to object to the demolition is conditional upon that leave-behind.)
There’s not much left to save in the Front N Center building. A portion of the building has already been condemned. There’s asbestos all over. It’s been vacant for 17 years. Osenga said there was no viable path for reuse.
There are also concerns about its structural integrity. Tom Kirk, a local demolition professional, said Thursday that the building is at risk of collapse. Just a few blocks away, an aging three-story brick building collapsed in 2011, causing injuries and damaging other nearby properties.
“There isn’t a person in here that would take their family inside these buildings,” Kirk said. “It’s just too late now. It’s gotta go.”
Ultimately, commissioners voted that the Front N Center building and Elks Lodge were historically significant but that they wouldn’t object to their demolition. They did not find the third building adjacent to the Front N Center building historically significant, so there was no objection vote.
Had they objected, Lindenbaum said that might have delayed the buildings’ demolition. But she said the commission has no real power to say they can’t be demolished.
