We are only a few weeks into 2008, and it hasn’t exactly been a good year for preservation news. Statewide, worries about the tax credit cap have filtered down to the local level; locally, ongoing demolition suits continue in Tiffin and Galion – and other communities are facing some tough losses.

The year began with news that the Orrville Design Review Board extended approval to a plan which will result in the loss of the community’s only theatre building (which is currently functioning) for yet another chain drug store.

This week’s Toledo Blade story about the possibly doomed Edgerton Village Hall tells a confusing tale. For one thing, there appears to be a somewhat obvious disconnect between observations that the building is “cramped,” and the story's photo of the second floor former Opera House space that appears to suggest otherwise.

Interestingly, price tags for renovation/addition and demolition/replacement are the same. As a result, the conversation in Edgerton is generating the same tired subjective chestnuts heard when the future of an older building is at issue – “Sentiment is expensive”… “You can build bigger for cheaper”… even though the numbers tell a different story.

One wonders if village leaders realize the impact that demolition may well have on marketing the village and the “quality living” that Edgerton purportedly offers. After all, right now the building is such a community icon that it is featured on the front page of the Village of Edgerton website. It is highly doubtful whether leaders took that marketing value into consideration in making their plans.

In Medina, the Historic Preservation Board approved a request for demolition of three 19th century houses for a parking lot adjacent to the Medina County District Library. Ignoring for a moment the question of how a local historic preservation boards can approve demolition (the vague language in the demolition section of the Medina historic preservation ordinance might give you a clue), the action will result in yet another loss of historic fabric for a community struggling to maintain its character in the face of development. According to The Gazette, the historic district has lost no less than 40 buildings in the last 40 years.

Lastly, the unannounced demolition of an 1855 house in Mentor has left city leaders scrambling to identify ways to preserve the historic fabric of their community. It faces somewhat of an uphill climb, as the Mayor has already raised the flag of property rights, but there is apparently support on City Council, according to this News-Herald story.

Photo: Medina County Courthouse -- TheTrueAPlus/Creative Commons License