Former Tri-Cities greenhouses wait for developments to sprout
For decades around this time of year, Tri-Cities gardeners have loaded up toy wagons with flats of pansies, impatiens, petunias and more at Geneva Greenhouse and Shady Hill Gardens.
They weren't like the big-box stores. You could ask an employee about whether a plant would do well in the half-shade, somewhat swampy area next to your garage, and the employees were likely to know the answer or direct you to a better choice.
But gravel-covered lots lie where geraniums used to grow.
Gone are the greenhouses that sheltered millions of plants and fed a thousand gardeners' annual dreams.
In their stead lies ... not much, so far, at the sites of the former Shady Hill and Geneva Greenhouse properties in Batavia and Geneva.
Geneva Greenhouse
Until a month ago, the Geneva Greenhouse property on Western Avenue was a green thumb ghost town.
Vacant buildings with broken windows stood there. A trespasser peeping in could see bottles of plant fertilizer abandoned on a cashier counter, and raggedy volunteer plants popping up through ground.
Then an April storm started the demolition process, taking down the roof of one building. The city soon made the owner knock all of them down, and fence off the site to keep out intruders, Geneva building commissioner Chuck Lencioni said.
There's a big sign advertising the Stonehaven subdivision. Augustine Custom Homes submitted plans last August for a 12-lot neighborhood, and the city has reviewed the plans and asked Augustine to answer some questions. It's the second developer to propose something for the site since the greenhouse closed in June 2006. David DeGroot, a Geneva city planner, said the developer is still negotiating the purchase of the site, and is holding off on further planning until that's resolved.
Shady Hill
There are two big signs on the site of Shady Hill's former site, too.
One thanks customers for years of patronage at the Batavia business, and directs them to the business' Elburn site.
The other advertises 3 acres for sale.
Shady Hill was, and is, legendary for its geraniums. But finding the Batavia greenhouse took a bit of doing, as it was way off the beaten path of Route 31, on a residential side street. It had been there since 1974, in greenhouses that were built in the early 1900s for a cut-flower business.
But 2007 was the Batavia location's last season, as the owners decided to consolidate their operation at a newer facility on Route 38 in Elburn.
The site is unincorporated, but if anybody wants water or sewer service, they'll have to annex to the city of Batavia, said Jerry Swanson, Batavia's community development director. The city's comprehensive plan calls for single-family homes.
Has there been any interest?
"Been deathly silence for about three years," said Swanson.
Joe Heidgen, co-owner of Shady Hill, said there have been a few inquiries, but nothing came of them.
But he doesn't regret closing the Batavia location, especially in light of the economic downturn last year. "We look like rocket scientists," he said, laughing.
However, "I certainly miss it and have very fond memories of it," he said.