Bellefontaine leaders plan to save 100-year-old downtown building

The city of Bellefontaine and a local contractor plan to partner to save a more than 100-year-old building from demolition.

The old post office, at the corner of West Chillicothe Avenue and South Detroit Street, was built in 1913 and has been vacant and locked up for decades, Bellefontaine Mayor Ben Stahler said. The post office moved across the street to a different building in the ’60s, he said, and the historic property was last used as a Mexican restaurant during the early ’90s.

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“Really we couldn’t find anybody in our community that was even willing to have this building for a dollar because of the known expense that they would have to put into the building to bring it up to speed,” he said.

It was slated to be demolished, he said, until someone came forward. Local contractor, Ron Coleman, said he was interested in saving the building.

“They said it was going to come down,” Coleman said. “I was like, “No, I don’t think it needs to.’”

Coleman has started a nonprofit to pay for the project, he said. He and the city are in the process of finalizing a contract to allow Coleman to get to work. The final reading on the contract will be Sept. 12.

The city has already taken action to clear vines and trees that had grown on and around the building, Stahler said.

“We’re saving the city money and we’re saving a building that’s been in existence for over 100 years in our community,” he said.

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The city would have paid about $60,000 to have the building demolished, Stahler said. Instead it will pay about $30,000 toward the efforts to restore it.

It will cost about $100,000 to secure the building, Coleman said, which will be his first step. That will include adding doors to the front and back of the building, repairing or replacing windows, and adding a new roof.

It’s a great idea to save the building, City Council Member Kyle Springs said, but he wants more information before it’s approved.

“My concern is I just want to see the timeline and the full contract to make certain that they’re going to be adhered to,” he said. “And that we’re not making false promises to the citizens and the city.”

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The building could be used as a banquet hall, a brewery, restaurant or something else, Coleman said.

Breanna Fay works in Bellefontaine. She’d be happy to see any business in the building.

“Stuff doesn’t look like this anymore. This has a lot more character than the stuff we build now,” Fay said. “I just think it’s really important for the community to keep it.”