Columbus Dispatch - January 31, 1997
Old Downtown Building to Get New Lease on Life
By Mike Pramik

A local real estate development company wants to rehabilitate a building near Capitol Square by starting at square one.

Calgary Real Estate Development Ltd. will undertake a $2.4 million renovation of the 79-year-old, two-story building at 137 E. State St., removing everything down to the four walls.

The project also will include replacing the roof, said Calgary partner Jim Havens.

"Economically, it's probably less risky to tear the building down," he said. "But there's very few of the signature, medium-sized buildings left.

"The architect and the contractor felt really good about keeping the building. You can still have a new building that has character with it."

Calgary, 5702 Westbourne Ave., paid $585,000 for the building and land, which it purchased from the Charles V. Mooers Revocable Trust.

The 16,000 square-foot building will house two tenants, one on each floor, Havens said.

Baker Henning Productions Inc., which specializes in historic renovation, is the project's general contractor. Frank Elmer Associates is the architect.

Calgary plans to get permission for the demolition work within 60 days, and construction should start within four months. The renovation is expected to be completed in June 1998.

Havens said leases are close to being finalized but wouldn't give specifics.

The facade facing State Street, which is Italiante terra cotta, will be faithfully restored, Havens said. The building's east and west sides will be redone, with two recessed courts on each side.

Windows lining the courts will flood the interior with natural light and provide views of the Statehouse.

There will be a roof-level patio, and parking will be available nearby, Havens said.

"Downtown tends to be its own world," Havens said. "You take what's there. The land is more expensive, parking is a very difficult issue, so you've got to be more creative if you want to be in the center of the city."

The building has been vacant for two years. In 1994, it was the downtown campaign headquarters for Gov. George V. Voinovich.

The structure is actually two buildings. The first was built in 1918 as medical offices, the southern half was joined to the northern half in the last '30s.

Havens said it helps that 137 E. State St. is not an unwieldy structure.

"It's not a Norwich Hotel, it's not a Seneca Hotel, with all that monstrous space," Havens said, referring to one downtown structure likely to be torn down, and another that was razed.

"This one is manageable."