How repurposing historic buildings breathes new life into the Tri-Cities

Renovate an old, empty building and make it into something that continues to serve the community. Everyone — the city, the renovation planners and workers, employees at a new workplace, nearby businesses, preservationists and residents — benefits from such an undertaking.

Most cities have fared well in the world of repurposing older buildings, many times converting empty churches, schools or factories into new businesses, or city or parks facilities.

Generally, a city has a good idea of what types of old structures need to have a purposeful rebirth rather than just be cleared out for other development.

However, it is worth questioning whether the repurposing trend we have seen in our towns for decades may fade. After all, do we have too many empty retail locations and banks to repurpose other sites in any meaningful way?

But recent events tell us repurposing, or renovation, especially for historic locations, still has its place.

St. Charles is fresh off a city deal to save the 1844 Judge Barry House from a potential wrecking ball that provides owner Baker Memorial United Methodist Church more parking spaces for the church without removing the house and funding aid for the new owner to restore the building.

It’s an example of what Mayor Clint Hull is seeing throughout the city.

“Our history, and our older buildings, are really what give St. Charles its character,” Hull said. “They’re what make longtime residents feel at home and what attract new residents who want to be part of a connected community with a charming, authentic feel.

“That sense of place doesn’t happen by accident, and it’s why I care so much about historic preservation whenever it’s feasible,” he added.

In getting input from his staff, Hull cited the example of a former lamp factory at 214 S. 13th Ave., a building close to being demolished.

“Luckily, it was purchased by a local developer, and the city worked work with them to help transform it into 16 apartment units,” Hull said of the building, which now has a new address, 1416 Indiana Ave. “The end result is really cool, unique living spaces that keep the building’s character while putting it back into productive use.”

Several downtown St. Charles buildings are in various stages of reuse. At 218 Riverside Ave., an older building is being converted into a mix of office and retail space, while a site at 11 S. 2nd Ave. is to become a high-end cigar lounge. At 215 W. Main St., an existing building is being redeveloped into a new restaurant.

All of these projects taken together show “a continued commitment to reinvestment, historic preservation, and thoughtful reuse that builds on the character of downtown rather than replacing it,” Hull said.

Other examples, both past and present, abound in the Tri-Cities. Just last week, it was reported the Batavia City Council is taking steps to renovate a 100-year-old factory building to allow conversion into a software company headquarters.

Mayor Jeff Schielke said the former Pamarco factory at 190 S. Water St. was once part of the U.S. Wind Engine and Pump Co. complex.

In addition to that renovation, Batavia has numerous past examples of repurposing.

The old Holy Cross church on the east side became a park district building for classes and special events known as the Eastside Community Center with Shannon Hall.

Residents may also remember how the McWayne School annex and office buildings on Wilson Street came about in what originally was the First Methodist Church of Batavia. That limestone structure later became a school in the late 1800s.

Other examples exist that longtime residents may remember, and new ones may find interesting.

The old Howell Plant, originally the Cable Piano Company along the west bank of the Fox River in St. Charles, eventually became the Piano Factory Mall before succumbing to the wrecking ball and the site becoming the Brownstone townhouses.

If not for a recession in the 1980s that shelved original plans, the building would have been razed for luxury condominiums. The outlet mall was a second option that took hold and kept the building intact for a period of time.

The original St. Patrick’s Church on Fourth Street in St. Charles was eventually converted to a series of restaurants starting with the Old Church Inn in 1977, to the Onesti Supper Club and today’s Nuova Italia Ristorante.

Other sites in St. Charles include the Fox Island Square shopping area on Illinois Street being created out of the former Crown Electric Company building.

Dennis Kintop of One Man, One Project, is best known for his work on the Batavia Riverwalk, but he has his fingerprints on numerous projects in the Tri-Cities.

Most recently Kintop has been busy renovating the former Little Owl building in Geneva, preparing it for a new restaurant to be operated by FoxFire owner K.C. Gulbro. Last year, Gulbro said that site would become a 9 Vixens restaurant.

The Little Owl building dates back to 1837 when it was a wood structure that housed a grocery store. It became a limestone building in 1853 and the Little Owl in 1947. This new conversion keeps it in the restaurant sphere, bringing an old building up to modern codes and infrastructure.

Geneva saw more repurposing in the 1980s with The Herrington Inn incorporating the old Creamery Building on the site. The same sort of debate is unfolding again with developer Shodeen regarding the 1840s blacksmith shop on the site of the former Mill Race Inn restaurant near Island Park in Geneva.

Let’s not forget one of the first examples of adaptive re-use in Geneva occurred in the 1920s when an Italianate Victorian home along Third Street became the Little Traveler.

Its renovation sparked similar activity along Third Street, which ultimately became a strong retail mecca.

Ultimately, the renovation of older buildings for a new life is something we have always been good at. It’s often at the center of long debates, tough decisions and sometimes prolonged inactivity.

But it’s often worth the wait, making it a practice that deserves a lot more credit than we give it.

Hull summarizes it in a way that holds true for any city.

“There are still buildings worth investing in and saving,” he said. “They may be smaller in scale, but they still contribute to the historic fabric of the city and help reinforce downtown’s identity.”

Romance a bit pricey

With Valentine’s Day falling on a Saturday this weekend, we’re hoping it’s a good sign for restaurants throughout the Fox Valley. They count on the most romantic of all days to be a busy one. Saturday is perfect for that.

Yet, personal finance company WalletHub tells us its most recent research indicates 40% of people say Valentine’s Day activities are not affordable this year.

Still, Americans are projected to spend just more than $29 billion on the holiday.

There are ways to make Valentine’s Day a less expensive outing. After all, years ago my wife tried to get us a place at a special White Castle seating that night. She tried because she knew how much I liked the place.

But it was sold out for both time slots. Even then, people knew there were less expensive options for romance.

Regardless of what people choose, here’s to hoping most can enjoy it.

Wine walk planned

Downtown promoter Batavia MainStreet has come up with two words that sound quite good about now: Spring and wine.

The organization has created “Step into Spring: Wine Walk” to unfold in downtown Batavia from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 21.

It’s a fairly simple formula. Participants go through downtown Batavia on a self-guided tour, with the option of having an ounce of red or white wine at any or all of the 14 stops.

Cost is $39 per ticket, available at downtownbatavia.com. In addition to a map and the wine offerings, participants also receive a commemorative wine glass and lanyard, and a “sweet treat” to enjoy during the walk, event organizers said.

A wish for Woodman’s

Reader William Farley let me know about his idea for filling the empty Harley-Davidson dealership site on Randall Road in St. Charles.

He felt it would be a good spot for a Woodman’s Market, in part because it’s a bit of a haul to go to other Woodman’s locations from St. Charles.

My sense is that the Harley-Davidson site isn’t big enough for a Woodman’s, and considering that Costco is close by, the traffic messes would potentially be biblical. And, would Woodman’s want to be that close to a Costco?

Farley agreed with that assessment, but I could tell he’d like a Woodman’s closer to his St. Charles home. From there, he said, it is about a 24-mile round trip to the Carpentersville site and a 17-mile round trip to the North Aurora site.

He adds these words of wisdom as well: “Adding the maelstrom on Randall Road, the Dan Ryan of Kane County, makes either trip one of those ‘think-twice-about-this’ decisions.”

We understand that reasoning, often including other tasks in that area when we make our monthly trip to Woodman’s from Geneva.

We stop at the Pet Supplies Plus store in North Aurora to drop off papers for the Anderson Humane animal shelter, or poke around in Penney’s on Orchard Gateway Boulevard if we are looking for something.

• dheun@sbcglobal.net