New Commercial Building Could Replace Historic Downtown Structure

PLAINFIELD, IL — A developer is seeking the Village's approval to tear down a historic building in downtown Plainfield and replace it with a new commercial structure. Plans call for the razing of the building at 24120 Lockport Street — which has fallen into disrepair, according to the developer — with a new building that can house storefront businesses and apartments.

Developer Edward Mattox of Shorewood has proposed building a 6,000-square-foot structure on Lockport Street that would house commercial space and apartments. The project would require the demolition of the building at 24120-24122 Lockport Street, one of the oldest buildings in Plainfield.

The building in question was erected in 1850 by John Root Kent, according to village documents. It traded hands a number of times, with its most notable owner being Ira Vanolinda, who was a police magistrate in Plainfield in the 1870's and operated one of three grocery stores in town from the Lockport Street building at the time. It is one of 43 structures built in Plainfield before the Civil War.

In 2006, the building was added to the Downtown Historic District. A survey done at the time recommended it for landmark status, though it was not designated as such.

Mattox, who bought the building five years ago, said the historic structure has fallen into disrepair. Structural issues make a renovation prohibitively expensive, and work done over the years has removed some of the building's historical signifiers, Mattox said. He said the only remaining historic items are some railing banisters and front porch features.

"The framing of the property is unstable," Mattox said at a recent meeting of the Plainfield Historic Preservation Commission. "We really think the best purpose of this is to take the building down, salvage the pieces we'd want to keep, and replace it with a more modern type of building."

Village officials have so far shown some unease with the plan. The Historic Preservation Commission earlier this month voted on a 90-day delay in a demolition permit and voted to require Mattox and the village to come up with an alternative plan for the site that could include preservation. The vote is not binding, and the Village Board will have to take up the issue, using the commission's recommendation, at its Oct. 21 meeting.

"Once it's lost, even if you build something sympathetic or similar... that special piece of our history, it's gone," said Suzanne Derrick, vice chair of the Historic Preservation Commission. "As you chip away at the [historic] district ... you erode the entgrity of that district."

Mattox has proposed to building a new structure that be nearly twice the size of the existing one. The new structure would be able to house first-floor commercial space for retail or restaurants, with apartments upstairs. Renderings of the proposed building show it being built in a historic style — though commission members were quick to point out that the building was not reminiscent of the historic structure's Greek revivial style. (Mattox has agreed to work with the village on the architecture of the new structure.)

An estimate for the new building was not given, though Mattox told the village demolition would like be $25,000 and renovation of the structure would be more than $500,000. Historic Preservation commissioners acknowledged the building had issues, and said they wanted it to contribute to downtown. But some commissioners asked that more thought be given to way to preserve the building, saying a preservation effort could receive tax credits and other funding, as well as be a marketing boost to future commercial tenants.

"I hope you would give some consideration to something more [historically] sensitive," said commission Chairman Michael Bortel. "It's against my grain to even consider tearing this down without at least some due diligence."

If the Village Board agrees with the commission and requires an alternative analysis, then Mattox and village officials will meet to further discuss project costs and possible means of preservation.