Property owner's appeal denied amid strong opposition to plan that included demolition of historic building.
Upholding Geneva's historic integrity still outweighs the financial issues faced by the owner of the Pure Oil property on State Street. The City Council's Committee of the Whole sent that message Monday night when it upheld the Historic Presentation Commission's February decision to deny developer Joe Stanton's plan for the land at 502 W. State. The committee, after more than three hours of testimony and debate, voted 7-3 to back the HPC decision, with aldermen Sam Hill, Richard Marks and Dawn Vogelsberg unsuccessfully voting to move the appeal to the City Council. Stanton has proposed a move to put a bank drive-through on the property and, in doing so, tearing down the Pure Oil Building. The HPC shot down the idea in a 5-1 vote, …
41.88836
-88.31109
The Pure Gardener
502 W State St, Geneva, IL
/articles/committee-upholds-pure-oil-decision
319807
/locations/6671465
Geneva's Historic Preservation Commission recommends that the city does not grant a demolition permit for the present home of The PURE Gardener.
With the applause of about 50 passionate spectators, Geneva's Historic Preservation Commission voted 5-1 Tuesday to deny demolition of the former Pure Oil gas station, today's home of The PURE Gardener, at 502 W. State St. The six-member recommending body voted against a request for a demolition permit despite a thorough case made by property owner Joe Stanton, commercial architect Jeffrey Lietz and St. Charles Bank & Trust President Tom Hansen that an adaptive reuse of the property simply was not a viable option. Stanton developed at least five separate plans since 2007 that would have kept the historic building intact. The third iteration—to restore the outside of the existing building and modernize the interior—would require a $360,000 …
41.88836
-88.31109
The Pure Gardener
502 W State St, Geneva, IL
/articles/quickstory-hpc-votes-5-1-against-demolishing-pure-oil-building
319807
/locations/7318756
Terry Flanagan
2:31 pm on Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Colin, This sounds like a great idea. It might be worth considering taking this concept to SPAC and forming a sub-committee to deal with saving not only this particular property, but others that may be facing demolition in the future. Preserving Geneva's jhistory and charm is a theme that runs throughout the SPAC goals and this would seem to fit in with those goals perfectly. SPAC has primarily … more ›