Two paragraphs in yesterday’s N&R story about the former Colonial Ice plant stuck with me:
Since the property has been for sale, only one offer has been close to the appraised value….It was rejected because the buyer wanted to demolish the ice house.
At the time, (city director of inspections and engineering Butch) Simmons said, the city’s goal matched that of preservationists: find a buyer who would renovate the c irca-1925 building for offices, artists studios or other uses.
The city’s goal matched that of preservationists, or was it dictated by preservationists? Of course, now that the city’s goal matches that of the potential buyer, which is to tear the building down, it can’t because road work has started on Market Street. And we know how long road work takes.
There’s certainly nothing wrong with preserving an old building on the edge of downtown. But if there was a market for doing so, a deal would be completed by now, right? It looks as though the ice house will sit in limbo for a while. Too bad the city didn’t move when it had the chance.
