The city has appropriated $125,000 into the building.
In 1997, the city bought the old National Guard Armory along with another Hudson Avenue property for about $250,000. In the past few years, the city has appropriated an additional $125,000 of tax payer money into the building.
It still remains vacant at the north end of Court Street and there are no specific plans for its renovation.
Most of that money was used for feasibility studies in order to determine the state of the building and possible future uses.
“It’s a huge thing and it’s going to cost a lot of money,” Councilman Jeff Risner, D-2nd Ward, said. “And I’m aware of that and I am hesitant to invest ... (too much), but I’m certainly willing to put money out there to look at the state of things.”
Paul Logue, Athens city planner, said much of the money appropriated by the city was reimbursed through government grants.
For one feasibility study earlier this year, council appropriated $23,000, but about $14,000 of that was paid for through a grant from the U.S. Historic Preservation office, he said.
Money for that study went toward hiring a local architecture firm, RVC Architects Inc., to survey the building in order to determine how the building could be used most productively and pose the least financial burden on the community.
Logue said some of those options include turning it into a performance area and offices.
“We’re taking it slow,” he said. “We’re trying to really understand it the best we can and understand costs.”
The building also has to undergo two rounds of “brownfield studies” from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Phase 1 took place last year and was used to determine safety and environmental problems in the building.
Council appropriated $7,000 for that study, which paid for environmental consultants to run the test.
Logue said the study found evidence of asbestos and lead paint in the building, but that the building was structurally sound.
Last week, council appropriated and additional $12,500 for phase two of the study, which will determine what steps can be taken to remedy that issue, and will also look for samples of contaminants in the soil.
“Once you’ve identified all the issues the project leaders will make a recommendation for how to clean that up,” Logue said.
The city has also appropriated $82,500 designated for “repairs,” but Athens City Auditor Kathy Hecht said that expense hasn’t been withdrawn from the city’s accounts yet.
Risner said he approves of all the money being spent on the building so far. But, he might not approve of the city fronting all the costs in its renovation.
“It definitely needs some other source of funding other than what the city can come up with on its own,” he said. “If it requires a million dollars of investment, the city’s definitely going to have (find some other funding).”
Risner said he doesn’t think the city has wasted any money so far.
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Tom O’Grady, executive director of the Athens County Historical Society and Museum, said as long as the city is making some kind of effort in renovating the building, the investment is worth it.
“I think it’s an important building in our community and I think it’s worth investing a lot of money into it,” he said.
O'Grady said the project probably won’t be very easy, but emphasized how iconic the building is in the city.
“That building is part of the definition of what Athens, Ohio, is,” he said. “It’s a very strong exclamation point on that end of Court Street. Just imagine it not being there.”
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