Batavia still assessing options for historic Tin Shop building

Batavia City Officials are deciding the fate of a 135-year-old building in the city’s downtown.

The Tin Shop building is a two-story wooden structure at 106 N. River St. built in 1890 that has been vacant for several years. It is classified as “contributing” to the city’s downtown historic district, therefore the city must receive a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) to allow for relocation or demolition of the building.

At the Jan. 14 Committee of the Whole meeting, members recommended approval of COAs to demolish both the Tin Shop and the adjacent garage at 112 N. River St.

Community and Economic Development Director Scott Buening presented the COA requests at the Jan. 14 meeting and told committee members that the Tin Shop is in poor condition due to a leaking roof and lack of use.

The city purchased Tin Shop building in 2016 as part of a $1.25 million acquisition of property on both sides of River Street between State and Franklin Streets.

The structures on the west side of the street along the river were torn down to construct a parking lot and make way for a planned mix use development by Shodeen Construction called One Washington Way, but the project was eventually terminated.

Since termination of the Shodeen development, the city has attempted to market the property to developers to convert it to mixed use residential and commercial space, as well as include the property in additional redevelopment plans – none of which panned out. Earlier this year, the city also proposed a rehabilitation project for the building, but after receiving several proposals, decided the cost was too high and terminated the project.

Since then, the building was used briefly by the Toy Drive for storage space, but has been vacant for several years.

Buening said the city has submitted multiple requests to developers to to convert the building into something useful, but the redevelopment costs weren’t feasible. He said the city will continue to try and market the building to potential buyers who want to relocate or refurbish the building, and will only resort to demolition if they cannot find a suitable buyer.

Historic Preservation Commission members reviewed the request at their Dec. 9 meeting, and recommended approval of the COA to demolish the Tin Shop building in an unanimous vote.

At the Jan. 14 meeting, Committee members recommended approval of the COA for demolition of the garage in an unanimous voice vote.

Committee members recommended approval of the The COA for the Tin Shop building in an 8-5 split vote. Aldermen Abby Beck, Leah Leman, Kevin Malone, Sarah Vogelsinger and Mark Uher voted no, and alderman Tony Malay was absent.

The COA requests will go before City Council at their Jan. 21 meeting for possible final approval.

If the city does eventually decide to demolish the building, demolition contracts will have to be reviewed and approved by City Council. While exact costs have not been determined, the demolition is estimated to cost about $100,000.