Thursday, August 19, 1999
Dayton decision to rezone street a real clunker
BY KAREN SAMPLES
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Classic home will be torn down so auto body shop can expand.
(Patrick Reddy photo)
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DAYTON — Here's the wrong way to give this town a boost: Tear down a turn-of-the-century home so an auto body shop can expand.
The home has hardwood floors, four fireplaces, tile ceilings. It was special enough to be featured in a 1998 book called Architecture in the United States.
But the owners want to sell. Boruske Brothers Auto Body wants to buy, so it can build onto its nearby shop. Clearing the way were three city council members who agreed to change the zoning along Sixth Avenue. Three others voted no, but that wasn't enough to defeat the plan.
Councilwoman Cathy Volter is appalled. So are some of the neighbors. The asking price for the home was only $65,000.
Old houses are one-shot deals. They can't be rebuilt. How much will Dayton gain from an auto body shop along Sixth Avenue? Tax revenue and a few jobs, certainly, but not character. In small towns, character counts for a lot, and it can co-exist with commerce.
Instead of buying the old home, Boruske could purchase and tear down a small store closer to its own property. But the store's asking price of $130,000 was too high, a Boruske brother told me.
Doug Fruchtenicht lives in one of the old homes affected by the rezoning. Every house on the block is occupied by its owner, a stability unusual for Dayton, he says.
He doesn't understand. The city's existing business district is full of empty storefronts. Why extend what isn't working into a nice residential area?
If the demolition proceeds, Sixth Avenue will be “anchored” by a wholesale carpet store on one end and the auto body shop on the other.
City officials “likened it to the Florence Mall, where you have Sears at one end and Lazarus at the other, and then you walk in between,” Mr. Fruchtenicht says. “The whole thing was crazy.”
Ms. Volter is looking for alternatives. At her suggestion, the council on Tuesday blocked any demolition in the city until a survey of historic property is complete.
The Means home and two next door are pictured in Architecture in the United States. Their details — bay windows, porches, dormers — represent the Jeffersonian idea that homes should reflect their owners' personalities, the book says.
Streets should have the same character. Downtown Dayton won't achieve prosperity without it.
Karen Samples is Kentucky columnist for the Enquirer. Her column appears Thursdays and Sundays. She can be reached at 578-5584, or by e-mail at ksamples@enquirer.com.
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