{"id":131650,"date":"2020-05-29T04:09:20","date_gmt":"2020-05-29T09:09:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=131650"},"modified":"2020-05-29T23:33:28","modified_gmt":"2020-05-30T04:33:28","slug":"van-wert-forward-development-project-makes-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2020\/05\/29\/van-wert-forward-development-project-makes-progress\/","title":{"rendered":"VW downtown project moving forward"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

DAVE MOSIER\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Van Wert\u2019s downtown begins to move forward again, with a number of stores cautiously reopening following the easing of state COVID-19 restrictions, a downtown development project — appropriately named Van Wert Forward — is also increasing its visibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Who is this masked group? The members of Platte Architecture + Design’s building investigation team pose in downtown Van Wert this week. photo provided<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Platte Architecture + Design, a Cincinnati firm that specializes in renovating historic buildings, has had 12 architects and project managers evaluating approximately 22 buildings in the downtown area this week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Those buildings are approximately half of the 40 downtown properties owned by The Van Wert County Foundation (VWCF), which is working with Pago USA, a group comprised of experienced development professionals, on an ambitious project to revive the downtown area. Pago development projects include the Over the Rhine historic section in Cincinnati, as well as The Landing project in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kurt Platte, founder of the Cincinnati architectural firm, said his firm\u2019s excellent relationship with The Model Group, a Pago USA development firm, was the reason they became involved in the project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have come to specialize in the preservation and revival of historic buildings,\u201d Platte said. \u201cWe\u2019re really big at bringing these things back to life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cincinnati architect added it is especially exciting to be working with The Model Group again, because of the firm\u2019s wizardry in finding funding sources for development projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey’re the best \u2018chess players\u2019 at this game that I\u2019ve ever come across,\u201d Platte said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also helping the Cincinnati architectural firm with its investigative work is Revival Design Studio, a six-person architecture and design firm based in Celina that has been involved in historic revival projects in several Ohio communities, including Bellefontaine, Marion, and Delphos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Platte said the Celina firm\u2019s assistance was very much needed once he learned the huge scope of the local project. The Cincinnati architect said he came in expecting a fairly small development project, based on the size of Van Wert, but was astonished when he learned how many buildings were involved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey (the Foundation and Pago) have thrown more buildings at us than we\u2019ve ever had in our big town (Cincinnati); it\u2019s impressive,\u201d Platte said. \u201cIt was not our expectation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noting that taking on the entire Van Wert project would have put a significant strain on his 20-person firm\u2019s resources, Platte said he was pleased when Revival Design Studio wanted to get involved — something that happened mostly because of CEO and Van Wert native Cally Lange\u2019s interest in the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lange, the daughter of county residents Roy and Jana Ringwald and a 2001 graduate of Lincolnview High School, went on to earn a master\u2019s degree in architecture from Ball State University before starting the Celina design firm. The county native said she is very pleased to be a part of the project for a number of reasons. \u201cIt\u2019s really cool just to be part of the team,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m super thrilled and excited.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Revival Design CEO and creative director added that, when she learned of the project, she didn’t hesitate to offer her firm\u2019s help. \u201cI said, hey, however we can help, we want to be involved,\u201d she remembered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately for Lange, Platte was also realizing this was a bigger project than his firm could take on without sacrificing other clients and projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t something we could have tackled on our own,\u201d Platte said. \u201cEven with our size firm, we needed more people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to providing assistance to Platte, Lange said the project will also be a learning experience for her firm, with Platte providing valuable mentoring, as well as the future possibility of similar projects for her small design group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lange stressed, though, that downtown renovation in general — and Van Wert\u2019s downtown in particular — are very important to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor me, these downtowns are the most important connection between the generations in a community,\u201d she noted, adding that she remembers stories her parents told her about shopping in downtown Van Wert. She especially remembers her mother talking about how her parents would buy her school shoes once a year at J.C. Penney in the 1960s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lange said those stories, and the downtown\u2019s connection to her family, makes this project personal for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor me, keeping these buildings going is not an option, it\u2019s a requirement,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s something we are absolutely responsible to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Platte agreed, noting that, growing up in his hometown of Columbus, he remembers the downtown being dead in those days, a situation he said negatively affected the economic health of the entire community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA successful center (is) the heart of any metropolitan area, no matter how big,\u201d Platte explained. \u201cThe more successful that is, the more successful \u2026 everything else is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Platte and Lange said preliminary investigation shows Van Wert has some well-built downtown buildings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re solid buildings; these buildings are in really great shape, compared to some of the buildings we see,\u201d Platte said of their investigation, noting the local buildings are in much better condition than those in Over the Rhine projects in which he was involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lange agreed, noting that several Van Wert buildings she has looked at have 3-by-13-inch floor joists — unheard of in modern buildings. \u201cThey\u2019re like tanks; far superior to new construction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That doesn\u2019t mean there won\u2019t be challenges. Lange said accessibility and how to get the buildings to meet modern building codes will be just some of the problems ahead for the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foundation Executive Secretary Seth Baker said his organization is looking at a multi-phase development project for the downtown area, although what that will look like, and which buildings are involved in which phase, and when, remain unknowns at this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the work done by the Platte and Revival firms provides important information on which to base future decisions, Baker said there are still more unknowns than knowns, when it comes to the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere a few known knowns, there\u2019s a lot of known unknowns, and a lot of unknown unknowns,\u201d he said of the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baker said one thing is known: the buildings with the most renovation challenges are the top early priorities. That\u2019s because, without relatively quick action, those buildings may not survive until it\u2019s time for them to be developed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn a sense, we\u2019re tackling the buildings that really need the fastest save,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Foundation executive secretary did admit that the Foundation and its development partners first looked at the downtown intersections, Main and Washington and Main and Market, as the place they would like to begin, because of their high community visibility. However, it was the dilapidated condition of the Home Guard Building and other structures that resulted in a change of priorities for the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, as if assessing the condition of a large number of older buildings isn\u2019t enough to tackle, the Foundation and Pago USA are working simultaneously with OHM Advisors on the myriad planning challenges of the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Down the road, as the project begins to shape up more, Baker and VWCF Marketing Director Amanda Miller said the Foundation will begin seeking community input on the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will go to the community and ask: What do they want? What are they looking for?\u201d Baker said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Foundation also plans to provide more updates on the various aspects of the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information on Van Wert Forward, or to get involved, visit www.vanwertforward.org<\/a> or contact Hall Block at hall@vanwertcountyfoundation.org<\/a> or 419.238.1743.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This map shows buildings (in green) being evaluated in the Van Wert downtown area as part of the first two phases of The Van Wert County Foundation’s Van Wert Forward development project. photo provided<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DAVE MOSIER\/independent editor As Van Wert\u2019s downtown begins to move forward again, with a number of stores cautiously reopening following the easing of state COVID-19 restrictions, a downtown development project — appropriately named Van Wert Forward — is also increasing its visibility. Platte Architecture + Design, a Cincinnati firm that specializes in renovating historic buildings, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-26 01:11:37","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131650\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}