Hearing set for third bid to demolish Geneva blacksmith shop

The Geneva Historic Preservation Commission will hold a public hearing Dec. 16 to consider developer Shodeen’s third request to raze a circa-1840 blacksmith shop.

Located at 4 E. State St., the remnant limestone structure has been at the center of a yearslong controversy between the developer and preservationists.

In 2018, the former Alexander Brothers Blacksmith Shop gained local historic landmark status, which protected it from the developer’s first demolition request.

The structure is one of the oldest-surviving commercial buildings in Geneva, representing part of its industrial past, which is why preservationists seek to protect it.

Demolition is a last resort if the owner has no other alternatives — an issue preservationists dispute, as they want the shop saved and repurposed and Shodeen wants it razed.

In 2023, after months of hearings, the Geneva City Council voted to uphold the Historic Preservation Commission’s decision to deny removing the shop’s landmark status, preventing its demolition.

In the past year, the city and Shodeen have battled in administrative hearings and finally in court, over the city’s requirement that a tarp be placed over the structure’s roof.

Shodeen lost the legal battle in October when a judge upheld the city’s right to enforce its property code.

Landmarks Illinois included the former blacksmith shop on its 2023 Most Endangered Historic Places list — the same year the city council denied Shodeen’s second request for demolition.

The Mill Race Land Company LLC — created by Shodeen for that property — filed a 250-page demolition request Oct. 31.

The hearing is set for 7 p.m. Dec. 16 at city hall, 109 James St.,