{"id":211773,"date":"2026-10-29T21:15:31","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T02:15:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=211773"},"modified":"2026-10-29T21:16:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T02:16:02","slug":"plans-explained-for-barn-once-moved-to-the-fairgrounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2026\/10\/29\/plans-explained-for-barn-once-moved-to-the-fairgrounds\/","title":{"rendered":"Plans explained for barn once moved to the fairgrounds"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"550\" height=\"425\" src=\"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Stripe-Rd.-barn-10-2026.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-211695\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This barn on Stripe Rd. in Van Wert will be dismantled, cleaned, stored then reassembled at the Van Wert County Fairgrounds. QTS Data Centers is covering those costs. It&#8217;s expected to serve as a visitor and event center once it&#8217;s reassembled at the fairgrounds. Plans are underway for the massive undertaking. <em>VW independent file photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong><em>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The news has been well received \u2013 QTS Data Centers has agreed to save a decades-old barn in Van Wert, which will allow it to be repurposed elsewhere locally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The barn, which currently sits on Stripe Rd. property previously owned by The Marsh Foundation, will be disassembled, power washed, stored and reassembled at the Van Wert County Fairgrounds, with all of those costs covered by QTS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s use at the fairgrounds is in the early planning stages, but Van Wert County Agricultural Society Secretary Mike Poling said the vision is to transform the 80&#215;120 foot structure into a visitor and event center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt will also house some history of the Ag Society and agriculture of Van Wert County \u2013 it will serve as an ag educational facility well,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Current plans call for the barn to be placed at the north end of the fairgrounds, north of the Commercial Building. Poling said the Agricultural Society has hired a contractor\/architect to work on possible designs and changes to the barn. He also explained the timeline is being worked out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe contract with the company tearing it down (states) they will store it for a year and QTS has put a timeline of having it down and off the property by March 1, 2027,\u201d Poling explained. \u201cIt would be at least back up, erected on the fairgounds by March 1, 2028, give or take. If things go well, we could possibly have concrete sometime by late summer or early fall in 2027, which would make it possible for them to start putting it back up by the fourth quarter of 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>While QTS is covering the costs of disassembly, cleaning, storage and reassembly, it will be the Agricultural Society\u2019s responsibility to cover the cost of the new concrete foundation and changes to transform it into a visitor and event center. With that in mind, fundraising ideas are being formulated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are in early conversations with some folks about finding additional funding for that,\u201d Poling said. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting, it\u2019s a great opportunity for the Ag Society to bring something to the grounds that will enhance the grounds and be here for a long time to come, but it\u2019s going to cost some money to make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn today\u2019s world, to meet code and get everything in there that you have to have to make it a public venue, is not cheap by any means,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019ll be cheaper than building something that size and to have that character.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Poling added that a figure isn\u2019t yet know, since the project is very early in the planning stage, but he added he\u2019s confident the support will be there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent editor The news has been well received \u2013 QTS Data Centers has agreed to save a decades-old barn in Van Wert, which will allow it to be repurposed elsewhere locally. The barn, which currently sits on Stripe Rd. property previously owned by The Marsh Foundation, will be disassembled, power washed, stored and reassembled [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-211773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-topstory"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-11-06 02:01:38","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\/211773","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=211773"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211773\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":211779,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211773\/revisions\/211779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}