135-year-old Tin Shop in downtown Batavia unlikely to see 136

The historic Tin Shop building in downtown Batavia will likely be demolished and replaced with public restrooms by the end of the year.

City Council members authorized the demolition of the building in January, and approved the first steps towards its removal at their March 3 meeting.

At Monday’s meeting, council members approved one request for proposal for the removal and relocation of the building, and another for the demolition of the site.

The Tin Shop is classified as “contributing” to the city’s downtown historic district, therefore a Certificate of Appropriateness was required to allow for relocation or demolition of the building.

Built in 1890, the wooden two-story building still stands at 106 N. River St. 135 years later, but has been vacant for several years and is in poor condition.

City Council gave its blessing to demolish the building on the promise that city staff would continue efforts to relocate or salvage as much of the structure as possible before calling in the wrecking crews.

The city’s urgency to remove the Tin Shop spawns from two factors: the need for public restrooms in that area of downtown, and the city has TIF funds available for Americans with Disabilities Act improvements that can be used for the restrooms, but they will expire at the end of the year.

The city bought the building in 2016 as part of a $1.25 million acquisition of property on both sides of River Street between State and Franklin streets for a development project that eventually was terminated.

Since 2018, the site has seen a string of failed marketing and redevelopment attempts, including a rehabilitation project in 2024 that was deemed financially infeasible after reviewing proposals.

The building has been used intermittently as storage space, but has been largely vacant for several years and is in poor condition.

While the city has not received any official quotes yet, the demolition is estimated to cost about $100,000.

The city has been eyeing the site as a possible location for public restrooms for some time, and with the window to spend TIF funds on the site closing, staff will continue to market the building to be relocated or salvaged, but plans to raze the site before the end of the year, one way or another.

At its Jan. 21 meeting, City Council members approved COAs to demolish both the Tin Shop and the adjacent, city-owned garage at 112 N. River St in one 9-4 split vote. Aldermen Leah Leman, Kevin Malone, Sarah Vogelsinger and Mark Uher voted no and Abby Beck was absent.

The RFPs to conduct the work were both approved at the March 3 meeting in a unanimous vote as part of the consent agenda without discussion.

The city expects to begin reviewing proposals for the relocation RFPs in April. If there is no interest to remove or relocate the property, the city will move forward with the demolition RFP.

Each RFP has a 30 day window for responses, and if a contract is awarded, the work is expected to be completed within 90 days of the award date.