Though the city plans to spend money assessing the armory, they still have no concrete plans on what to do with the building.
At the north end of Court Street stands an old and largely unused building: the Armory, once home to National Guardsmen and now only the city’s filing cabinets.
After a few failed proposals to revamp the 100-year-old armory in recent years, Athens City Council members are once again eyeing an effort to shape up the building the city bought along with another property for about $250,000 in 1997.
In the past two weeks, council members have discussed an ordinance to allot funding for what’s called the “Athens Armory Stabilization and Improvements study.”
The study would include a list of necessary updates to the armory’s plumbing, electricity and heat, as well as improvement to the space’s climate control system, according to Athens Mayor Paul Wiehl.
Last year, the city spent about $1,500 on the building to keep its electricity running.
City officials have already connected with Athens-based RVC Architects — the company tasked with surveying the building — and have decided the survey would also assess the structure’s stability and and help construct an outline of the building’s usability.
The study is estimated to cost about $7,000, although the city received a donation of $500 from the Better Business Bureau to defray that cost.
Despite those talks, city officials still aren’t exactly sure what they would want to do with the 13,000-square-foot space.
“If we’re going to invest money, we better have a clear idea of what to do,” Wiehl said.
Athens isn’t the only Southeast Ohio city struggling to answer that question.
Officials in Marietta are unsure of what to do with their own armory. Without a concrete goal in mind, they’ve already taken the first steps in a construction project Marietta’s Safety-Service director Jonathan Hupp has estimated could cost anywhere from $700,000 to $1.5 million.
“That’s one of the community’s biggest questions,” Hupp said.
But Hupp said basic construction in Marietta has moved forward. They’ve replaced the roof, added energy efficient windows and doors and completed work on the parking lot with the hope that business owners someday rent out the space.
Hupp has said that grants and donations from benefactors have kept his city’s bill for the project under $100,000.
“The city received a lot of grant money, and it was about to expire,” Hupp said. “So we had to quickly put together a plan to spend it.”
Athens currently has not applied for grants for the renovation itself, Wiehl said, adding that “funding streams will be available provided we have a goal in mind.”
“People would like to see a highly flexible auditorium/conference center/convention center,” said Athens City Councilman Steve Patterson, D-at large.
Regardless of its use, Wiehl estimated the Armory would still need approximately $1.5 million worth of renovations before it could see any use.
“We want something that can be a showpiece for the city,” Wiehl said.
The third reading of the ordinance is expected to take place during the city council meeting on Oct. 13, and Patterson hopes the study could begin the following month.
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