Hearing on fate of Geneva’s historic blacksmith shop continues

GENEVA – The Geneva Historic Preservation Commission will continue its public hearing on whether a circa 1848 blacksmith shop can be razed. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Village Hall.

Commission Chairman Paul Zellmer had said last month that he expected testimony on the blacksmith shop to be concluded both from the public and the applicant at the July meeting.

The limestone blacksmith shop is at the former Mill Race property owned by the Shodeen Family Foundation.

The foundation is asking the commission to remove its historic designation and allow it to be demolished.

Demolition is a last resort if the owner has no alternatives – an issue disputed by preservationists who want the shop saved and repurposed.

Landmarks Illinois, a historic preservation nonprofit, declared the blacksmith shop one of nine Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois for 2023.

At nearly 180 years old, the locally landmarked limestone structure at 4 E. State St., Geneva – the Alexander Brothers Blacksmith Shop – is one of the oldest-surviving commercial buildings in Geneva and represents an important part of the city’s industrial past, according to the release.

It is part of the former Mill Race Inn property, 1.8 acres at the southwest corner of Routes 38 and 25.

David Patzelt, who is representing the Shodeen Foundation, testified that the structure cannot be reused, repurposed or relocated.

To make that point, Patzelt put a for sale sign on the building for $1 back in March and so far, there are no takers.

And while Patzelt cited an analysis from an architectural firm that it would cost too much – $1,000 a square foot or $2 million to rehabilitate or repurpose the building.

“Let’s say save it,” Patzelt said. “How do you pay to save it?

But the city’s consultants offered different views on how the property could be reused.

These included having the city invest $1.7 million in tax increment financing, or about 3.5% of the $40 million to $42 million investment the owners are expected to make.

A tax increment financing district – known as a TIF – is a development tool used by local governments to encourage development or redevelopment in blighted areas that would be too expensive to improve with private dollars alone.

“We conclude that the reuse of the historic building as a standalone project is a viable alternative as part of a public private partnership,” according to a presentation at the June commission hearing from consultants Teska and Associates and The Planera Group.

If the Shodeen Foundation does not agree with the decision by the Historic Preservation Commission, it can appeal to the City Council.