Cities all over grappling with what to do with empty buildings that are old but also have a lot of history. Burlington city leaders are talking about tearing down one from the 1800's as a cost effective option. However, some hope to bring it back to life as place for area youth to go.
The 4,000 square foot red sided building called The Apple Trees sits in Perkins Park. The Perkins family donated the property to the city in 1928. The building and the family that built it have a rich history in Burlington. But for four to five years The Apple Trees home has been empty. "The plan is looking for a plan for the building. We're at the point we've identified some of the costs to repair it," said Burlington Development and Parks Director Eric Tysland.
The building needs an estimated more than $70,000 in repairs and to bring it up to code. That's much more costly than the alternative which is to tear it down. The city sought bids for demolishing it and the lowest came in at about $11,000.
"We want to try to reduce our costs instead of increasing our costs," said Tysland, "There is some mold in the basement... small restrooms on the upper floor and lower floor that don't meet accessibility standards today."
Half-way across town, Elisha Robinson sees past those issues. She says the building would be perfect for her youth program "Thrive." "It's focused on tutoring, field trips, we're going to provide guest speakers and assess their needs," said Robinson.
Right now the youth center, which sees several dozen kids each day, is outgrowing its space. "We definitely need more room here," added Robinson.
She has gone before the city council hoping to work something out for The Apple Trees building. City leaders say there needs to be a plan that will sustain things like maintenance and operation costs. "The thought would be that anyone that moved into the building would assume that cost and can a program like "Thrive" sustain that in a building like that," said Tysland.
Robinson says other youth programs have expressed interests too and she's hoping for a joint venture that will keep the building from coming down and put it to good use again. "Definitely show their support for the building so it's not demolished and we can get together as a community as use it for multi-purpose."
The city gave Robinson 30 days to come up with a plan before making any decision. Any other youth programs interested should contact her at the J-Street Youth Center.
If The Apple Trees is demolished, the plan is to build an open-air shelter in the area for the park.
