Aluminum windows OK'd for Geneva on the Dam

The Geneva City Council Monday decided a building in its historic district can get aluminum replacement windows instead of historically-appropriate wood windows.

It voted 8-0, with Alderman Dawn Vogelsberg recusing herself, to let Shodeen Inc. put the windows on the oldest portion of its Geneva on the Dam complex on North River Lane. The oldest building, on the west bank of the Fox River, was built circa 1900. The rest was built in the 1980s.

The last time windows were replaced in the old portion, in the 1980s, wood was used. They have rotted, and Shodeen blames that in part on excess moisture from being close to the river. It also wanted to use the same windows throughout the structure to have a consistent look, it explained in its application for a building permit.

The council's decision overrides the decision of the Historic Preservation Commission, which reviews such matters. It felt that with proper maintenance, wood replacement windows would be a better choice.

Vogelsberg did not participate in any of the council's discussions on the matter because Shodeen is an advertiser in an electronic magazine she co-owns.