A plan to demolish Geneva’s historic blacksmith shop, which dates back to the 1840s, has been revived

GENEVA – The Shodeen Family Foundation wants to remove the historic landmark designation of the original circa 1843 limestone blacksmith shop at the Mill Race property, 4 E. State St., Geneva, so it can proceed with its demolition, according to documents filed with the city.

The City Council approved landmark designation in 2018 and last May approved reducing it to just the limestone structure instead of the entire 1.4-acre parcel to give more leeway to redeveloping the site.

David Patzelt, representing the Shodeen Family Foundation, filed a 159-page application last month with the city’s Community Development Department.

[ 5 things to know about Geneva's historic blacksmith shop ]

In short, to redevelop the 30-by-48-square-foot structure would cost $1,000 per square foot, according to an architect with historic preservation experience, Patzelt said.

“There is no building in Geneva that has a value of $1,000 a square foot,” Patzelt said. “Even [Northwestern Medicine] Delnor Hospital – one of the most expensive things to build – is not $1,000 a square foot. Nobody – no sane person – would pay to build that for $1,000 a square foot. … I don’t think there is a building in Kane County that is $1,000 per square foot. It’s cost prohibitive.”

A small mom-and-pop type store would not generate any kind of revenue, Patzelt said, and even as a coffee shop, access would be too limited without a drive-thru.

Patzelt said they can’t build on top of it because its footings are unstable. And that is the same reason they can’t move it.

The filing follows a yearslong process for the Shodeens, who bought the shuttered iconic restaurant the Mill Race Inn, demolished ancillary structures damaged by flood and then tried to arrive at a development that is acceptable to the city and public.

Even a series of planning meetings with the public in 2019 did not end with an acceptable plan.

The most recent filing includes information from Muehlfelt Enterprises, a building mover company, which stated the structure was not moveable and there are no locations within the Historic District where it could be relocated.

Moving it and trying to reassemble it somewhere else will not work, Patzelt said, because it’s too heavy and unstable as “there is nothing holding all the walls together.”

Patzelt said there are only two options, according to ordinance: Either the city contributes to fund the restoration of the limestone structure or allow it to be demolished so something else can be built there. The stones can be used to create a gateway feature in homage to the site’s history, he said.

But Al Watts, the community engagement director for Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley in St. Charles, said Shodeen is only looking at one option – $1.4 million to create a retail space.

“Frankly, it is not the best option for that space,” Watts said.

Watts also disputed that it would be too fragile or heavy to move without an engineering study to say so.

“From a historic preservation standpoint, moving it is a last-resort kind of situation. And the reason is because the historic significance of that building is that location,” Watts said. “Move it and you really kind of lose the significance of it.”

Geneva was settled in 1834 and the structure was created to generate power from the Fox River, Watts said.

“It’s the only building on the river in Geneva that used water power and [it was] the main reason for settling in Geneva,” Watts said. “Geneva’s heritage is Geneva’s brand. That building has touched everybody since the early settlers to today.”

The building was a blacksmith shop, a wheelwright, a coopery and a laundry, Watts said. In the 1920s, it was an auto repair and sales shop, and in 1933 a restaurant, Watts said. The building evolved with the changing needs of the city.

“There’s lots of things they could do with that building to incorporate it within a larger project,” Watts said. “Making it a retail standalone is the most expensive and the least viable.”

Among other options, Watts said, would be to use it as a storage area for bicycles or watercraft, create a fitness room for an apartment complex or use it as a sales office for the apartment complex, assuming Shodeen still wants to build apartments there, Watts said.

Another incentive to preservation is the federal and state tax credits for historic properties, Watts said.

Patzelt has a Dec. 8 deadline to respond to staff’s questions and requirements before the Historic Preservation Commission would schedule a public hearing. The City Council would take final action on the commission’s recommendation.