Demolition off the table for historic Oxford building

A historic Uptown building that had been slated to come down, forcing at least three businesses to move, will stand for an indefinite time, now that the citys historic committee voted down the demolition.

The building, 48-56 East Park Place is in the citys historic district. Therefore, the citys Historic Architectural and Preservation Committee had to approve the demolition before it could move forward.

The Sigma Chi Foundation owns the building, in which the organization was founded. It had planned to demolish the back part, stating it was in disrepair. As a result, a number of businesses, including Bills Art Store and Nails Depot, were asked to move out of the building by the end of May.

Bills Art Store had already moved out, having found a new home near the Oxford Wal-Mart. Owner Barb Berry said she regretted having to leave because the store had deep roots at that location. All the same, she said, Im not going to gloat. Thats just mean. Its a done deal for me. I already had to move, so now well be in a better situation.

Patricia Loomis, a manager at Nails Depot, said she was not pleased with the whole affair. She had also been asked to move out but has been unable to secure a new location as of yet. She was granted a 30-day extension at the end of May, and shes not sure what will happen now.

Weve had no help in trying to find a place. This place is our only source of income as a family, she said.

At a meeting in May, the HAPC was unable to reach a decision on the matter and tabled the request. The body met again at a special meeting late in May, after some members inspected the building.

Some members were surprised to not see more damage and deterioration to structural portions of the buildings requested for demolition, stated the report on the meeting.

Because the building had not been declared a public nuisance, Sigma Chi had to meet at least two of five criteria in city code to demolish the building. The HAPC agreed that the cost to renovate the building was too high. However, the HAPC disagreed there was not an appropriate re-use planned for the property, because a significant portion of the land would turn into a vacant lot.

Bob Benson, a member of the HAPC, said that the buildings represented characters tic(s) of a typical small Ohio village, which would be forever lost with the demolition, according to the report.

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Demolition off the table for historic Oxford building