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Request to demolish Linden Hall withdrawn
(by Barbara Christian - August 31, 2011)
Request to demolish Linden Hall withdrawn
By BARBARA CHRISTIAN
Developers of Chagrin Falls' Falls Walk subdivision withdrew their hearing request Monday for demolition of Linden Hall, the last remaining building on the former Windsor Hospital campus on East Summit Street.
The village's architectural review board was scheduled to hear the demolition request on Sept. 6.
Falls Walk developer Gary Spaeth said Monday, "It has not been determined" whether he and partner Robert Micco will reschedule their request.
Withdrawal of the request was "not necessarily" due to the Chagrin Falls Historical Society's interest in Linden Hall, he said.
On Aug. 25, the Chagrin Falls Historical Society board approved the formation of two committees to study the physical and financial feasibility of acquiring and restoring Linden Hall for use as a museum and administrative space.
Linden Hall was determined to be a "historically significant" building by the village's architectural consultant, Theodore Sande, three years ago.
Historical society President John Bourisseau said Friday his organization's board met last week and agreed to the formation of two Linden Hall fact-finding committees.
A physical feasibility committee, led by Kathryn Watterson and Carolyn Sihler, will study the possibility of restoring the Linden Hall.
Environmental and engineering issues, condition of the building, whether it should be moved or remain where it is, will be considered, Mr. Bourisseau explained.
Linden Hall is located on property zoned for parks and institutional with a residential overlay, so no zoning change would be necessary if it remains where it is, he pointed out.
The second committee will study economic feasibility. It will be led by Laura Goretta and includes Amy Barter and Mrs. Sihler. They will investigate the possible purchase, financing and maintenance costs of operating the building, Mr. Bourisseau said.
"We are focusing on what it will take to save Linden Hall," Mr. Bourisseau said of the committees' work.
In addition, he noted that he had "a positive meeting" with Mayor Thomas Brick and village Administrator Benjamin Himes and has had supportive feedback from the public.
Linden Hall also is known by its historical reference, "the Sears House," for its original owner, Charles Sears, who was the planner of Chagrin Falls' first burial ground on North Main Street, popularly known as the Grove Hill Cemetery.
In 1845, Mr. Sears became part owner of a paper manufacturing mill on a portion of what is now Riverside Park.
Before withdrawal of the request for a demolition hearing before the architecture board, Mr. Himes, in a letter to the board, indicated the reason for the demolition was that Falls Walk developers had no luck selling Linden Hall as a single-family residence, and they will cite economic feasibility as the reason why it cannot be saved.
If developers return with their request to demolish, Mr. Himes advised that the architecture board can seek assistance with its review of the developers' economic analysis.
The Chagrin Falls code allows demolition of historically significant structures as long as the owner meets one of several conditions. They include that the property is no longer habitable, is unsafe or cannot be repaired economically. The owner must not have purposefully neglected the property to the point that it is financially impossible to save.
The code also prohibits architectural review board from issuing a demolition permit for any building until the developers have obtained the board's final approval for what would replace it.
In 2008, developers were successful in obtaining permission to demolish several other structures on the Windsor property. One of them was a newer addition to Linden Hall, Mr. Himes noted.
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