COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The Coldwater Downtown Development Authority board has decided to go to bat for Southern Michigan Bank & Trust and support SMB&T’s efforts to have the old Gillespie Funeral Home building torn down. The City of Coldwater Historic District Commission last month took action that prevented the demolition of the vacant building on Marshall Street located just north of the bank’s lending center.
The nearly century old structure was purchased by SMB&T at auction in July with the purpose of bringing it down and city staff agreed before the Historic District Commission intervened. The building lies within both the Downtown Development Authority and Historic District Commission districts, so the DDA board was urged to write a letter of support for the demolition and forward it to SMB&T as the bank prepares to appeal the matter to the State Historic Preservation Board.
DDA board member Mayor Tom Kramer said Wednesday morning that the vision for the property for green space or redesigning the lot for more community benefits is clearly the better option than having the building sit there and further deteriorate. Kramer, who made the motion to have the support letter prepared, said the DDA is acting at a time when the city struggles to fill the commercial buildings it has, adding that there is value in supporting and honoring our architecture, but he doesn’t see that’s the case with the Gillespie property.
In the words of DDA Board member Greg Bruder, “ It’s been through the judge and jury of the economic realities of the location, of the structure, of the cost to improve it and the jury has weighed in because it hasn’t been bought by anyone other than an entity that wants to basically tear it down”.
A decision from the state isn’t expected until sometime during the first quarter of next year. If the request to overturn the HDC decision is rejected, SMB&T’s final recourse would be to have the matter appealed to Branch County District Court.
