The owners of a downtown Perrysburg business want to unify their two buildings with white exterior paint, but the city's heritage commission says the current brick look must be preserved.
Matt and Lea Skotynsky, owners of the historic buildings that house their financial business on Louisiana Ave. 213 and 215 are appealing to the Perrysburg City Council to overturn the decision.
Alyssa Taylor, project manager at Miller Diversified, Maumee, is assisting the Skotynskys with the renovation plans and spoke at the City Council's public hearing Tuesday.
“There are certainly a lot of painted bricks in the historic district now,” Ms. Taylor said. “The new attempt at not painting the existing bricks was a little frustrating for them.
“From a business perspective, they value the entire facade having a cohesive, unified look, and that will continue to be valued for the future of their business,” she said.
The Collaborative from Toledo is the architect.
Color will connect the two buildings, Lea Skotynsky said. The facade of the 213 Louisiana store, which is currently being renovated and is a shell, has been painted several times over the years, and the paint on the 215 Louisiana building will be consistent, she said.
“That’s what we’re asking for — not demanding — but asking,” Ms. Skotynsky said.
In a follow-up interview, she said compromises had already been made on several parts of the painting and renovation. For example, they only want to paint the front part of the building, not the sides, back, or anything in the alley.
The Historic Landmarks Commission denied the painting request on Nov. 18. The design standards for the Perrysburg Historic District state that painted masonry should remain painted and masonry that has never been painted should not be painted.
John Meier, chairman of the commission, said he applauded the Skotynskys for their plan.
Plans to renovate a historic building are not for the faint of heart or the faint of heart, as they will be much more extensive than you expected.
The commission's standards, adopted in 1986, are specific, Meier said.
“It’s really a preservation of the front facade – it’s really about preserving the original brick structure,” he said.
Mr. Meier acknowledged that there are many painted brick buildings in historic downtown Perrysburg. However, none have been approved in the last 20 years.
The standards are very clear, he said: Bricks that have not been painted should not be painted.
Councilman Tim McCarthy asked Tuesday if there was another way to seal the brick without painting.
Susan Rowland Miller, also a member of the Heritage Commission, referred to the Secretary of State's standards regarding mortar.
“The worst thing you can do with masonry is seal it … because then the water gets stuck in it,” she said. “What they recommend could be the very thing that causes damage to the building.”
Dan Judson, another commission member, said he has experience painting brick at his own historic home at 147 W. Front St.
“It will be a nightmare if it starts chipping,” he said, referring to the chipping of stone after the old brick is painted. “You won’t find out until years later and you’ll wish you’d never had it painted.”
Member Scot MacPherson said the commission was enthusiastic about the Skotynsky project but opposed painting the brick. He said the council should consider how many downtown buildings would be affected if it reverses the commission's decision.
“If you allow the appeal, you are setting a precedent; 60 [percent] “Up to 70 percent of the buildings are made of brick, and you open them up to paint them,” he said.
Ms Taylor said the Skotynsky project had already been scaled back to leave the majority of the bricks unpainted. They are only asking for 250 square meters at the front to be painted to complement the single storey building and that is a good compromise.
The Skotynskys also bought the first one-story orange brick building in 2002 and have painted it three times without problems, Ms. Taylor said.
After the meeting, Ms. Skotynsky said there was a generational plan to continue the financial business in downtown Perrysburg in adjacent buildings for years to come.
The council adjourned into executive session to discuss the issue for 15 minutes before the regular council meeting began.
“We couldn’t make a decision tonight,” McCarthy said.