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The debate over 231-237 Pennsylvania Avenue West should ultimately come down to one question: What gives Warren the best opportunity to put this property back into productive use for the next several decades?
There is understandable support for preserving the existing building. Historic buildings contribute to Warren's character, and preservation should always be seriously considered.
But preservation also has to make economic sense.
This building dates to 1920, has been vacant, lacks functioning utilities, needs significant work, and has been described by the city engineer as unstable and potentially dangerous to the public. Rehabilitation would begin with an aging structure and all of the uncertainty that comes with it.
Being able to save a building structurally does not necessarily mean saving it is the best financial decision.
There is another option that deserves serious consideration: responsibly demolish and remediate the existing structure, then market the cleared property to private developers.
That does not mean Warren should spend public money tearing down a building merely to create another empty lot.
The objective should be redevelopment.
A cleared downtown parcel at Pennsylvania Avenue and Liberty Street, near the planned riverfront improvements, could then be marketed to developers without requiring them to first assume the structural, environmental and rehabilitation risks associated with the existing building.
Any eventual sale could include requirements that the purchaser actually develop the property within established deadlines. Warren has used or considered similar protections before, including provisions allowing property to be reacquired if promised development does not occur.
That protects the community from replacing a deteriorating building with a permanently vacant lot.
New construction would also allow a developer to design specifically for today’s needs rather than trying to adapt those needs around a century-old structure.
Historic preservation has value. But preservation should not become an end in itself when a building’s condition, rehabilitation risks and redevelopment potential point toward considering another path.
Whatever Warren ultimately does, the measure of success should not simply be whether the old building remains standing.
It should be what occupies that corner 10, 20 and 50 years from now.
Robert Marrone is a Warren resident.