AMVETS Building Not Historic

The powers that be voted Tuesday night not to designate the Amvets building as a historical landmark. And I am happy with the decision and happy for the Amvets!

I think it was wrong for the Central Illinois Landmark Foundation (CILF... not Chicks I'd Like to F...) to push for this designation after 5 or 6 years the Amvets were trying to sell their building and they finally received a bid and purchase agreement. I belive that many on the city council voted it down because of the situation many of these players were in.

According to CILF, the building passed the criteria to be considered "historic." And it is probably so. But in my opinion, from what I know, I think it is just an old building with beautiful design. They just don't make buildings like that anymore. But what was historic about it? And CILF wanted the city council to stand with them and designate this building a historic landmark. And once this is done, they wanted the Amvets to make the proper improvements and refurbishments at their expense. This is what I think is really wrong.

As a property owner, you have several responsibilities. You need to ensure that your property is kept up on modern fire and saftey codes, follow any zoning laws and make sure it is clean of litter and nuisance free. But if CILF had their way, what right do they have to force the Amvets to make unneeded renovations to satisfy the historic landmark certification?

The Amvets is not made of money. Their membership is declining rapidly from older members passing away and younger veterans not signing up to join. The reason they were selling was to get a smaller, more manageable and economical facility. That is what they were going to do with the proceeds. The Amvets next door neighbor, the Riverside Community Church, was going to raze the building to make way for a youth center. Basically, shit happens and life goes on. While I hate to see a beautiful old building go down, the alternative would have been for the Amvets to stay where they are and watch the building, and their post, fester.

It would be unlikely for the Amvets to sell this building had this historic landmark been made. Who is going to buy a building that was just designated as a historical landmark and that they would have to put upwards to a $1 million of renovations? Instead, if CILF really wants to save that building, they need to buy it themselves and they can then perform whatever refurbishments are needed on their dime. As it stands now, its the Amvets building and they can do what they want with it, within reason of course. And that includes selling it to Riverside so they can begin construction of its youth center.