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(rshsdepot) Bay City, MI
NOTE: There are two articles copied below.
Photos:
http://www.downtownbaycity.com/award/award7.jpg
http://www.judnick.com/images/Michigan_BayCity_PereMarquetteStation_small.jp
g (small postcard image)
Sleeping beauty Pere Marquette needs renovator's kiss to awaken from decades
of disuse
Sunday, February 3, 2002
By Rob Clark
Times Business Editor
Walking through the former Pere Marquette Railroad Depot in Bay City, one
can't help but wonder what the building looked like during its heyday.
And it's hard not to imagine how beautiful the building could be again.
Everywhere you look, there are remnants of charming touches that make the
structure unique: Like the few spindles that remain on the giant curved
balustrade leading to the second floor; the double row of ornamental molding
that lines the ceiling; or the Chromalox thermostats that were manufactured
by the Edwin L. Wiegand Co., an electric heating business founded in 1917.
And then reality sets in as a thick coat of paint chips and bird droppings
crunch beneath your feet and you navigate around dozens of bird carcasses
scattered throughout the building.
With the windows boarded up, only minimal light shines on the signs of
deterioration, like gaping gashes in the walls where pipes have been
exposed, a giant mound of paving bricks that once served as a chimney and
stained panels filling up nonoriginal drop ceilings.
It has been decades since the building was last occupied by businesses and
organizations like the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, Bay City Realty &
Construction Co., United Steelworkers AFL/CIO and the Soil Conservation
Service.
A directory of their office locations remains stenciled into a wall on the
second floor of the building and some of their record books are still piled
around.
Cosmetically speaking, time has taken its toll on the historic building.
But structurally, the building is in good shape, according to Randy L. Case,
an architect for Architecture + Design of Battle Creek.
Case prepared a renovation estimate in 1997 for Clara's Restaurant Group of
Lansing, which had planned to restore the depot to its original brilliance
and open a restaurant.
Clara's still owns the building, but is now trying to sell it for $395,000.
"The building is very sound, especially the outer shell," Case said. "One of
the things we did was look at areas of the building that needed to be shored
up and then got those areas stabilized."
Built in 1904, the depot was last used in 1969 by the Greyhound Bus Co. In
June 1980 it was placed on the State Register of Historic Sites and in April
1982 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The construction of the 12,000-square-foot depot building reflects the
dominant role railroads played as Bay City evolved from a lumber-based
economy to an industrial-based economy at the turn of the century.
The Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad came to Bay City in 1867 after
purchasing the local Bay City and East Saginaw Railroad Co. from its local
founders: land speculator and merchant A.S. Munger, Circuit Court Judge and
former Lieutenant Gov. James Birney and James Fraser, manager of the Saginaw
Bay Lumber Co.
As the city diversified in the wake of the decline of the lumber industry,
the railroad played a significant role in keeping Bay City's new products
available to its markets. The construction of the new depot represented the
success of that effort.
The depot is a rectangular, two-story, red brick building with limestone
trim and a foundation of random ashlar fieldstone.
Brick piers capped with limestone separate the second-story windows on the
extended entry bay and a limestone bandcourse separates the first and second
floor levels. Dormers project out from the hipped roof and the first floor
displays arched doors and windows and a three-sided bay.
The fact that the depot's structure is sound is an important factor,
according to Bryan Lijewski, architectural coordinator for the State
Historic Preservation Office in Lansing.
"There are different degrees of deterioration," Lijewski said. "You have to
look past what you immediately see and look closely at the structure. You
must determine if the structure has major deficiencies or if the problems
are more cosmetic in nature.
"Thirty-two years is a long time to sit vacant, but a building could sit for
five years and have more major problems," Lijewski said.
"Extreme deterioration is caused by leaky roofs, sinking foundations and
excessive water damage. This could happen over a 32-year span, but it could
also happen in one year."
Case said the depot property shows no signs of such deterioration.
"There was one area of concern on the second floor that was added over the
first floor. It had a few spots where it wasn't solid, but that could be
easily fixed and has little to do with the structure," Case said.
"A building could be mothballed for many years and do just fine if the
foundations and footings are solid and that's the case with this building."
Even with a solid foundation, renovating the depot would mean a substantial
investment.
Case's grand total for the proposed Clara's renovations came in at more than
$1.8 million in 1997.
Gordon L. Hollister, owner of Hollister Realtors, 701 E. Vermont St., the
company marketing the property, said he thinks it will cost the next owner
between $1.4 million and $2.8 million to renovate the building.
"It really depends on how the building is used and how much you want to do
in terms of renovations, but that's a pretty good ballpark figure,"
Hollister said.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Old railroad depot tracks little interest
Sunday, February 3, 2002
By Rob Clark
Times Business Editor
The former Pere Marquette Railroad Depot in downtown Bay City has a rich
history, but its future is in question.
Waning interest in the deteriorating property and a sale price well above
the assessed value could stand in the way of the historic building ever
being a viable part of the city again.
"There really isn't anything that Bay City needs that would fit into that
building," said Thomas L. Starkweather, vice president of the Bay City
Economic Development Corp. "We have adequate office space; plenty of
shopping space; ample restaurants; and enough apartments."
In recent years, it has been suggested that the depot be used as a home for
the local bus company, county governmental offices, a restaurant, retail
space, a museum and even the central headquarters of the Bay County Library
System.
The 98-year-old depot is owned by Clara's Restaurant Group of Lansing, which
is offering the property for $395,000. The property was assessed at $139,000
last year, giving it a cash value of about $278,000, according to the Bay
City Assessor's Office.
Annual taxes are about $8,900, according to the Bay County Treasurer's
Office.
"I think a key issue is ensuring that the sale price is more realistic. It
is overpriced right now. It isn't worth close to $395,000," said Thomas L.
Hickner, Bay County executive. "That is potentially a barrier to getting
something done."
Clara's owner Ross Simpson, who bought the building for about $200,000 in
1997, said he's not willing to do much negotiating on the sale price.
At one time, Clara's had planned to convert the depot into a restaurant. A
$1.8 million renovation of the building was drawn up, but never came to
fruition because Clara's suffered a tremendous financial loss when a
delicatessen the company opened in Battle Creek went belly up.
"We are retrenching after our deli failure and we could use the cash," said
Simpson. "We want to sell the depot, but would still be interested in
leasing the property if another developer came in and put up the money for
renovations."
Clara's has no plans to develop the property, Simpson added.
There are at least two private developers from Michigan who have expressed
interest in buying the building since it went on the market last year,
according to Matthew M. Kowalski, a real-estate agent for Hollister
Realtors, 701 E. Vermont St., Bay City.
Kowalski, who is working to sell the depot, would not name the prospects.
"Someone needs to take this building over before it gets too far gone,"
Kowalski said. "Right now, it's structurally sound, but it won't last
forever."
One organization that is not interested in the property is the Bay County
Library System. Its sights are set on building a $15 million, three-story
Central Library across from the Bay County Building in downtown Bay City.
"We aren't going to build on the train depot site," said Linda R. Heemstra,
director of the Bay County Library System.
"The library board has made a definite commitment to the property across
from the County Building ... and has asked the (Bay County) Building
Authority to proceed with seeking purchase agreements and a purchase offer
on those properties.
"That's about as strong a commitment as we can make," Heemstra said.
It's been more than 32 years since the Greyhound Bus Co. left the former
depot, which sits on 412 acres of land roughly bordered by Boutell Place,
Fifth, Adams and Third streets. The building has been vacant since.
The depot was built in 1904. During its heyday, more than 10 trains a week
rolled into the station, transporting passengers as far north as Canada and
as far south as Toledo.
It had fallen into disrepair by 1953 and was damaged by fire in 1980, the
same year it was placed on the State Register of Historic Sites. In April
1982 the depot was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
This status, however, does nothing to protect the building from demolition,
said Bryan Lijewski, architectural coordinator for the State Historic
Preservation Office in Lansing.
"Someone could purchase the building and knock it down using their own
money. We'd hate to see that, but there's nothing we could do about it,"
Lijewski said.
Lijewski said a federal tax incentive program would allow a new owner to
rehabilitate the building and claim a 20 percent federal tax credit.
That's the same program the owners of Hereford & Hops Restaurant and Brewpub
took advantage of in renovating their historic site on Midland Street in Bay
City.
"This program exists to serve as incentive for owners of historic buildings
not to knock them down," Lijewski said.
County Executive Hickner believes the building is best suited for offices.
He'd like to see a group of county, city, economic development and downtown
development leaders formed to discuss the future of the depot.
Hickner foresees a future in which different entities would fund a
three-phase renovation project - to fix up the building's exterior, interior
and surrounding land. He thinks it would cost between $1.6 million and $2
million.
"Knocking it down is an option, but they just aren't making buildings like
this anymore," Hickner said. "I'm not a big fan of tearing down historic
buildings."
Neither is Bay City Manager James M. Palenick. He said he'd be happy to be a
part of a discussion about the depot, but thinks nothing can be accomplished
unless the sale price comes down.
"I don't think most people would like to see the building knocked down, but,
at the end of the day, if you can't make ends meet, that may be what you
have to talk about," Palenick said.
"You have to get the depot back into use to save it, but it has a price that
is too high and unrealistic. There is no incentive for a developer to buy
it."
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