Part of Home Guard Building collapses

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Officials from the Van Wert County Land Reutilization Corporation (land bank), Main Street Van Wert (MSVW), and The Van Wert County Foundation (VWCF) are accelerating efforts to find funds to demolish a neglected downtown building that has become even more of a safety hazard because of a partial collapse of the structure early Sunday morning.

A portion of the northwest corner of the Home Guard Building, built in 1905 by a fraternal group formed to purchase low-cost insurance for its members, but unoccupied for years, collapsed early Sunday morning, strewing bricks and other debris across North Market Street. The street has now been closed off and, hopefully, will remain so until the building can be made safe, according to Stacy Adam, executive director of the Van Wert Area Economic Development Corporation.

One positive note is that the Home Guard Building was acquired in December 2019 by the land bank from private owners through a tax delinquency action. Foundation Executive Secretary Seth Baker said his organization entered into an agreement on July 9 to have the land bank hold the property until the Foundation could initiate a redevelopment project for the site. As part of the deal, the VWCF would reimburse the land bank for any costs involved in maintaining the building.

“I would say this building has been an issue and a concern for many years,” Adam said. “There were issues with potential contamination and nobody was really holding their hand up to be first in line to acquire the building because of the potential liability.”

Adam said the land bank gave local development officials a vehicle with which to acquire the building, adding that the agency’s sovereign immunity at least reduces the issue of potential liability.

After the land bank acquired the property, the Foundation brought in a structural engineering firm to assess the integrity of the building, as well as determine what it might cost to salvage and restore it. On May 21, SSRG of Cincinnati assessed the building to determine the degree of decay, and brought back less-than-positive news to the VWCF. SSRG determined that all of the historic character and interior finishes of the building were completely lost, and estimated it would cost approximately $15 million to restore the building to essentially its original state, or $12 million to gut the building, leaving only the exterior façade, and build a modern structure within.

Baker said that, in comparison, demolishing the building, which would cost an estimated $350,000, and constructing a new building of equal size and height would total an estimated $7.5 million, including the demolition cost.

“It was very evident when we saw that number(s) that (the building) was writing its own story,” Baker said.

However, Sunday morning’s partial collapse has made it even more critical to move forward on demolition of the building. 

At this point, stakeholders are working on stabilizing the building, as much as possible, and applying for an Environmental Protection Agency Multi-Purpose Brownfields Grant that would provide funds to demolish the structure.

“The process has been expedited,” said Amanda Miller, marketing & resource development coordinator for the Foundation.

Miller added that local economic development and VWCF staff had attended an EPA grant training session on September 2-3 and had already established a task force that includes professional brownfields consultants to complete the grant application process. The application deadline is in October.

In the meantime, both entities are collaborating with local contractor Alexander & Bebout to establish what it will take to temporarily stabilize the Home Guard Building to reduce safety risks. Miller noted that Sunday’s collapse will accelerate that process, with stakeholders meeting Monday with A&B to determine what needs to be done now.

Because of the fragile condition of the Home Guard Building, Baker stressed that people looking for souvenirs from the building, such as bricks now strewn on North Market Street, should in no way do so because of the dangers of being near the building. 

“It’s not worth someone’s life to walk up to it, take a brick, or explore,” Baker said. “Stay away!”

Baker and Adam both said they will request that A&B put up a construction fence to keep people away from the area around the building.

Also in the works currently is a two-year effort to establish a downtown historic district in the city, led by the Main Street organization. The successful approval of that designation, which would provide 45 percent tax credits and other benefits to downtown development projects, could happen as soon as Friday, September 18.

MSVW Executive Director Mitch Price explained that, once the historical district is established, because of its historical significance, the Home Guard Building would have to meet requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which requires federal agencies to consider the effects on historic properties of potential development projects.

Price and Baker both said that process would likely mean local officials would have conduct a public survey and documentation of the building before local officials could get authorization to demolish the structure. The process could also add several months to when the building can be torn down.

Baker also said that the Home Guard Building is not the only building that has had recent structural problems, adding that two building on Washington Street had first floors collapse into their basements this summer.

“It points us to the exact reason why we are doing what we doing downtown,“ Baker said. “Main Street has been actively championing for downtown reinvestment and revitalization, but we are losing buildings faster than we can save them.”

Baker said that problem has led to the overall acceleration of renovation activities by the Foundation and its partners in the downtown area. 

“We cannot work fast enough on these, we’re plugging holes right now,” he said. “It’s overwhelming on trying to solve the problems.”