Facade repair plan approved for The Goshen News' building

Jun. 23—GOSHEN — The Goshen News' building in downtown Goshen will soon have an updated — and safer — front façade following action by the Goshen Board of Zoning Appeals Tuesday afternoon.

At the meeting, board members approved a request by Newspaper Holdings Inc., parent company of The Goshen News, and Schrock Commercial Construction for a developmental variance allowing the aging and damaged front façade of the building, located at 112, 114 and 116 S. Main St., to be repaired and updated with the ultimate goal of making the façade safe for passing pedestrians.

"The existing façade is aging, damaged and in need of repairs," Rossa Deegan, assistant planning and zoning administrator for the city, said in presenting the request Tuesday. "It includes three original building fronts at a total width of approximately 66 feet and a height of approximately 38 feet. Existing materials include plaster, which covers a large portion of the second story on the north side of the building and a border around and within the entire second story; brick installed in a basket weave pattern on the majority of the mid and south portions of the second story; textured brick on the first story; rectangular aluminum windows and doors on both stories; and rectangular metal sconces on the second story."

According to Deegan, the approved developmental variance was needed due to the fact that the Goshen Zoning Ordinance currently stipulates that for buildings located in the city's Downtown District, all visible exterior walls of new, rebuilt or altered buildings must be visually compatible to the historical and architectural style, general design, arrangement, size, texture and materials of the existing pre-1910 historical buildings on Main Street between Clinton Street and Jefferson Street.

"The Downtown District regulations were adopted in September 2008," Deegan told the board. "Their intent is to 'enhance and maintain the traditional main street corridor by preserving the integrity of the existing development...maintaining the architectural style of the area...and developing a pedestrian-friendly environment, so that the Downtown District is an attractive and desirable place to live, work and do business.'"

However, according to Doug McAvoy, publisher of The Goshen News, completely renovating and restoring the building's front façade to a pre-1910s architectural style would be incredibly expensive, and the business simply cannot afford such an extensive and cost prohibitive project at this time.

What's more, McAvoy noted that the current state of the building's degraded façade requires that action be taken as soon as possible to ensure the façade is repaired and made safe for passing pedestrians.

"This building really needs a repair," McAvoy told the board. "We need to get it fixed. It's embarrassing to not only our newspaper, but to downtown Goshen. ... But the number one concern is the safety. I mean, we have people walking back and forth in front of this building, and pieces are falling off. ... But to take it all the way back to where it needs to be, it would be quite extensive work, time-consuming and extremely expensive."

THE PLAN

As an alternative plan, Deegan noted that Schrock Commercial has been hired by Newspaper Holdings Inc. to conduct a five-point repair and rehabilitation plan for the building's front façade that will both update the look of the building while also making it safer for passing pedestrians. A breakdown of that plan is as follows:

—Use of material called Exterior Finish Insulation Systems (EFIS), a material similar in appearance to plaster or stucco, to replace damaged portions of the aging plaster;

—Use of EFIS for cornice, columns and trim details;

—Replacement of existing rectangular sconces with gooseneck lamps with vintage appearance;

—Installation of a canopy above the first story windows and doors; and

—Power washing and painting the existing brick.

However, while generally supportive of the overall plan, Deegan noted that he did take issue with the proposal to include cornice, columns and trim material as part of the renovation, as he said they would likely clash with the more modern-looking aspects of the building.

"Given that the damaged portions of the façade are unsightly and that the integrity of the materials on the façade may be further compromised if not repaired soon, making changes to the façade without doing a full historic restoration is reasonable," Deegan said in his report. "However, staff believes several elements of the proposed changes that clash with the existing façade should not be approved. In particular, the proposed cornice, while historic in appearance, clashes with the modern brick, plaster and aluminum doors and windows.

"Such details should be added to the façade only when the full historic restoration takes place," Deegan added. "Additionally, the proposed columns do not match any architectural features on existing buildings in the pre-1910s style on Main Street between Clinton Street and Jefferson Street."

As such, Deegan suggested that the proposed plan be amended to exclude the section calling for the cornice, columns and trim material.

SAFETY FIRST

Upon opening up the discussion to the public, Michelle Horning, a downtown building owner, urged the board to deny the proposed plan altogether, noting that she feels the building should be restored as required by city code.

"While safety is important — I certainly agree with that — I would like to see them work a little harder to make their building look like the others downtown," Horning said.

Dave Pottinger, another downtown building owner, joined Horning in expressing his desire to see the building's façade restored to as close to the required pre-1910s architectural standard as possible, as did Ron Hoke, who spoke as a representative of the Goshen Historical Society.

Along those lines, Hoke suggested that the plan presented Tuesday be denied, and that Newspaper Holdings Inc. instead take time to seek out additional funding options to fully restore the building, such as grants, that may be available through local organizations such as the Downtown Façade Committee, the Downtown Economic Improvement District and the Community Foundation of Elkhart County.

"I believe that there are means available to them once they get a plan and know how much it's going to cost to go ahead with the project," Hoke said. "That's just my opinion."

Yet in the end, the board ultimately decided that moving forward quickly with the renovation project was the best option, as delaying the project for any additional time would only increase the risk of potential injury to passing pedestrians.

As such, a motion was passed unanimously to approve the plan with the changes suggested by Deegan.

John Kline can be reached at john.kline@goshennews.com or 574-533-2151, ext. 240315. Follow John on Twitter @jkline_TGN.