August 1988 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

STANDARDS Part 2 D. Demolition Historic landmarks shall not be demolished. When a landmark poses a. threat to the public safely, and demolition i s the only alternative, documentation by way of photographs, measured drawings, or other descriptive methods should be made of both the exterior and interior of the landmark. RECOMMENDATIOhl A review of The South Bend School Corporation requests and the Supplemental Report suggests the following conclusions: Item a - That they do not need the building appears to be supportable with the current student population prof ec t i ions.. However, not "needing" a landmark building does not constitute a. strong enough reason to demolish it. Item b - The issue of the Vo-Tec and Powerplant buildings sites providing adequate parking spaces is not supported; page u of the Supplemental Report indicates 145 parking spaces with the buildings remaining and only 149 spaces if the buildings are removed. Item c - The concept of creating a new entry on the west side of the Central High School building was approved at the previous_. meeting. Item d - The aesthetic and historic value of the Central High School buildings have already been determined through the process of landmark des.i gnat i on and National Register status. Item e - The economic feasibility or hardship created by requiring the maintenance of these buildings on site is explored in the Supplemental Report. It is estimated that the cost of mothballing the Vo-Ter_ building is approximately $302,185.00 minus demolition cost of $48,000, and landscape and parking lot development cost of $17,000, equaling approximately $235,000.00, with a total project cost of approximately 7.5 million. $2 :5,000.00 would seem to be a feasible figure to preserve 22,000 square feet of useable space. Therefore, the question becomes whether $255,000 out of a 7.5 million project is an economic hardship? ($255,000/$7,500,000 is. approximately 1/30 of the project costs.) Staff finds that the figures do not present conclusive evidence of economic hardship.