Batavia church seeks OK to raze former furniture store

Batavia United Methodist Church wants to tear down the former furniture store it owns next door.

Aldermen will discuss the request at a committee meeting Tuesday night.

The store, at 14-18 N. Batavia Ave. (Route 31), is a combination of six buildings and additions. The oldest part was built in the 1880s, the youngest in 1972, according to a city memorandum.

Part of it is a gymnasium where the 1911 state champion Batavia High School boys basketball team played.

The Hubbard family owned the building from 1910 to 2013. It housed Hubbard’s Home Furnishings, Hubbard’s Ethan Allen Gallery, and lastly, Acosta’s Consignment.

The church bought it in 2015. The last tenant, Acosta’s, moved out in 2019. Since then, it has been used for storage by charities and for firefighter training exercises.

The building, which is in the city’s historic district, is rated as “noncontributing” historically due to the additions and alterations. The Historic Preservation Commission recommended allowing demolition.

According to the memo, development officials are concerned about having an empty lot on Batavia Avenue. They say the church may use the space to expand, but it has not submitted any plans to do so.

A church representative told the HPC, at an October 2025 meeting, that an architect who studied the facility in 2013 determined it did not have an automatic fire protection sprinkler system, lacked insulation, and had outdated ventilation, heating, electrical and plumbing systems. The architect also found that several of its basements lacked waterproofing, leading to water infiltration, and the structure was compatible with for how the church wanted to use it.

If it is demolished, the city could require that a lawn and landscaping be installed. It would also prohibit parking on the site.

ssarkauskas@dailyherald.com