After spring break, Ohio University students might return to a campus with one less historic structure.
Demolition of Building 26, which formerly housed the Beacon School and tuberculosis ward at The Ridges, will occur in the next week or two, said Harry Wyatt, associate vice president for Facilities.
“The contractor (is continuing) with what we understand is the scope of the demolition,” Wyatt said. “The plan is that it be demolished and gone by mid-March.”
The demolition is currently estimated to cost $450,000 and the site will be turned into a green space, Wyatt said.
Wyatt previously said the building would not be demolished until late-March.
This announcement comes in the wake of outrage from members of the Athens County Historical Society & Museum who oppose the demolition and say Wyatt has not communicated with them for months.
“I can’t even get them to return a phone call to me,” said Ron Luce, president of the society. “I’ve lost faith that they’re willing to communicate anything to me at this point. It’s apparent that they don’t wish to interact with us.”
Luce and Tom O’Grady, president of the society’s board, met with Wyatt and other OU and society representatives in October 2012. O’Grady and Luce say Wyatt proposed a year grace period to find an alternative to the demolition of Building 26.
Wyatt indicated he would get back to the society within two weeks of the meeting but did not, according to O’Grady and Luce.
“I laid out no hope whatsoever about entertaining anything but demolition for the building,” Wyatt said, in a conference call Thursday. “This particular building was a very strong safety concern.”
Contractors will travel the paths that connect Dairy Lane’s compost facility to Building 26 during the demolition process so activities at The Ridges are not disturbed, Wyatt said.
In a final effort to save the building, O’Grady and Luce have resorted to citing the Ohio law that gave OU control of The Ridges to demand the university consult with local leaders.
The law, passed in 1988, gave OU control of The Ridges but required the Board of Trustees to establish a committee “to advise the board on uses (of The Ridges) to be made by Ohio University.”
The committee was formed in 1988 and dissolved in 1991 after they approved a land use plan for The Ridges, according to Nicolette Dioguardi, associate director of OU’s Legal Affairs Office.
The plan states Building 26 could be “dismantled” if no other use for it was found.
“(The committee) believed it was their job to do a comprehensive land use study, make recommendations, and hand (control) over to the university,” Dioguardi said. “(To reform the committee) go to the legislature because I read the statue as the committee had a job to do, they did it and now it’s done.”
Desperate to voice his concerns, Luce attempted to speak to the Board of Trustees on the matter in December — only to be shut down by the board, he said.
“The community is struggling to have a say in the future of this important heritage resource,” O’Grady said. “Are we not all a part of the same community? We’re just trying to do our job too. We’d rather work together than apart.”
dk123111@ohiou.edu
dd195710@ohiou.edu
