Sandra Blum speaks at the Redevelopment Authority meeting.

The group trying to redevelop property at 231-237 Pennsylvania Avenue West is working on a written counterproposal to the city Redevelopment Authority.

A regularly scheduled Redevelopment Authority meeting earlier this week was held with no contention, unlike the June 10 special meeting.

The RDA had previously offered to transfer the property to a local nonprofit-led development group, known as the Warren Heritage Community Alliance, under two conditions: that the project be fully operational within three years and that the organization secure a $200,000 developer’s bond to cover demolition costs if the project failed or the organization dissolved. During the special meeting, members of the group said those terms were too restrictive and requested additional time and flexibility. That message was reiterated this week.

Sandra Blum from Bee Courageous at Garden Grub, thanked the RDA for the extra consideration during the special meeting.

“I wholeheartedly appreciate the conversation that we had. I wanted to recognize that,” Blum said.

Blum said that time is of the essence and that the Warren County Heritage Alliance would like to continue to move forward with the process. She asked for a conversation to be held between now and the next meeting with an eye toward a vote as to whether or not the Warren County Heritage Alliance can move forward or not.

“You were asking for a counter-offer from us and we want to make sure we have what you’re asking for, what we need and everybody is on the same page and happy to move forward,” Blum said.

Ron Peterson of the Warren County Heritage Alliance spoke next and informed the commission that the group is prepared to submit a written counter proposal. The attorney is already working on the IRS paperwork so that their group would have the ability to accept donations.

Former RDA member Douglas Hearn also spoke during public comment encouraging the commission to continue to follow the process that was laid out in the RFP.

Plans for the property remain on hold until the July meeting.

Blum said after the meeting the property at 231-237 Pennsylvania Ave. is rare because most Beaux Arts buildings were built as courthouses, banks, hotels, department stores and multi-story commercial buildings. One-story examples are much less common.

“This property, constructed in the early 1900’s is the last remaining one-story Beaux Arts commercial building in Warren. A one-story Beaux Arts building had to express elegance using the following: façade composition, ornament, proportion, and storefront rhythm instead of height, which makes it unusual,” Blum said.

She said Beaux-Arts architecture became highly influential internationally. In the United States, it shaped iconic structures such as the New York Public Library and Union Station in Washington, D.C., reflecting the style’s emphasis on grandeur, symmetry, and decorative richness.

“The grandness is in the special windows, eagles and the brick work,” Blum said. “We are not just trying to save a building, we are trying to preserve Warren’s rich history.”