RM 11-16-79 - Laserfiche WebLink

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South Bend Redevelopment Commission Regular Mee ing - November 16 1979 7. PROGRESS REPORTS a. conitinued... Mr. Wasielwski: That is probably true, yes we would not. We have always stated that case and we have always stated the case that the Odd Fellows Building would not stand in the way of Century Mall.. It seems like over the years these two things have been put together, and the Historic Preser- va ion Commission has always been put on the defensive. Ms. Auburn: But my concern is, if we give time, if we accept the proposal that's on the table to pursue talking to the developers and they are not able to get the bond financing and if for whatever reason those projects are not going to go through,, it appears to me that the only alternative at that point may be to demolish the building. I'd like to know that we're going to have your cooperation if we reach that point in time to do that. Mr. lklasielwski: That is correct, of course I can't speak for the entire Commission but I can speak for myself right now. All historical buildings, if it is a matter of econo- mic hardship,.can be demolished. That `.s in all law, our local ordinances as well as the federal. In case the City of South Bend would be placed in an economic hardship the building can still be demolished. Ms. Auburn: I don't want to spend another 6 months trying to decide and define what's economic hardship for the City. Mr. Ellison: In light of the Commission's actions, the ball game is different now. It's not the same ballgame. I want the Commission to be very aware of that. The Advisory Coun -' cif has a perfect right to reopen it's consideration of the building on the basis that the building may in fact be eli- gible for the Register as part of the W. Washington Histori- cal District. The Advisory Council's regulations require that their comment period generally take 60 days, provided we provide them with all the information they require during their analysis. My experience with the Advisory Council, based on the last go -round on the Odd Fellows Building, is that they do not in fact provide you with a definite answer in 60 days. I would recommend to the Commission that in order to protect public interest, that the Commission in- struct the staff to specifically go back to the Keeper of the Register, the ultimate federal authority, to determine whether it's historic or not and request a determination from the Keeper as to whether or not that building is eli- gible for inclusion in the W. Washington District. It's my own personal view that that building is not historic, -35-