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Timothy Klu_sczinski President, _Historic Preservation_ Commission —,Sep. _1720_1.2 _page 16 To fully incorporate the space occupied by the present Avon building into the new space needed by the new Main Library, and repurpose all the Avon's interior space to new Main Library space, would mean large portions of the Avon's present north and south walls would have to be torn out in order to open its interior space to the new sections planned in the new Main Library building. It would be much more practical and efficient to tear down the present Avon building to create the new structures and spaces needed, with the planned floor levels, and preserve or relocate just the facade of the present Avon building. If the Avon's 2nd story fagade is what is historic and important to the history of South Bend, and not the rest of the building which is in very poor condition and unusable with its sloping 1st floor, sloping balcony, and its low basement ceilings, then why not remove the facade, repair or replace its broken pieces, and then remount those pieces or important elements of those pieces, in their original arrangement on an appropriate wall inside the new Main Library after it is completed? It is also doubtful that all of the terra cotta pieces on the present fagade can be removed without further damage such as cracking and crazing of its surfaces. The repositioned fagade or recoverable pieces of that fagade mounted on a protected interior wall of the new Main Library could serve as a memorial to this downtown historic movie theatre at an appropriate location within the space of the new Main Library. Preserving the Avon would effectively isolate the entire north end of the new Main Library building from its south end. Retaining the entire building's theatre space, lobby space, basement space, office and balcony space effectively divides the new Main Library on all three levels since the Avon stretches at all three levels from Michigan Street to the north -south alley, 160 feet, where the west wall of the new Main Library's three levels is to be located. The separation between the north and south areas of the new building makes the open space the Library is trying to achieve on all three levels in its new building completely null and void. It also makes the new building rigid and inflexible when it comes time to restructure that space for future changes in public library services. The separation of this space by retaining the entire Avon building has one more additional negative consequence: Such action by the South Bend Common Council would render useless the real estate parcels now occupied by the three buildings that SJCPL has purchased along W. Wayne Street: the former Fort Wayne -South Bend Diocesan Offices (at a cost of $350,000); the former New York Collection clothing store (at a cost of $130,000); and the former No. 1 Chinese Restaurant (at a cost of $360,000)) and would therefore represent a loss to the Library of at least $840,000 in its investment in these properties. If SJCPL cannot effectively use the space now occupied by these three buildings for its future new Main Library because of the separation created by preserving the present Avon building, then this becomes a major financial loss to SJCPL and the source of possible legal action against the Historic Preservation Commission and the City of South Bend. The Library also spent an additional $200,000 in developing its Main Library Building Program and the Schematic Design plans for the new library building. These funds have been spent already in consultant, engineering, survey, and architectural fees, bringing the Library's total investment to date to over $1,040,000. Much of this will be lost if the present Avon Theatre is declared an historic landmark that must to be preserved or restored and somehow incorporated into the new Main Library as a theater or special event space. Again, Recipient of the 2009 Leighton Award for Nonprofit Excellence www.libraryforlife.org