Future of smashed Bucyrus buildings yet to be decided

BUCYRUS — After two weeks of looking at boarded buildings, people are starting to wonder what will become of the historic structures that were smashed by a semi-truck July 19.

Charles Conyer, 44, of Richmond, Ind., was heading north on North Sandusky Avenue when, according to Bucyrus police, he fell asleep and drove into 105, 109 and 113 N. Sandusky Ave. on the main thoroughfare. Part of the building front tumbled onto the semi after impact. Conyer escaped with minor injuries.

While the crash looked detrimental to the downtown landscape, J and F Real Estate Investments owner Jim Mayes stated he is fairly certain his building, which housed Micro Medix and the U.S. Army recruitment center at 109 and 113 N. Sandusky Ave., will continue to stand.

“I do not think it is going to be torn down,” Mayes said. “I do not have an answer for sure. We are still negotiating with the insurance companies, but we know it is not going to look exactly the same.”

Mayes stated he thinks the buildings will fit with the current landscape, but will be more modern looking.

“We had the engineers and architects look at it again (Friday) and we are getting plans together to restore it,” Mayes said.

“Our concern right now is to get it going and get moving on it. It is August. By the time we get plans and all that it will be September. We want to get it buttoned up before October, before the weather starts to get bad.”

Known as the Heckenauer Building, 109-113 N. Sandusky Ave., it is one of the oldest in the city, predating the Civil War. It was built in 1857, according to the Ohio Preservation Office’s Ohio Historic Building Inventory.

The other building with significant damage, known as the Tobias Building, 105-107 N. Sandusky Ave., was built in 1881. It has a red-brick front. It was built at about the same time as the City Bank Building, the southern-most building on the square. Its white brick front displays the year 1881 at the top of the structure. It is the only building affected by the damage that has an age indicator on the exterior.

The northernmost structure affected by the crash, 119 N. Sandusky Ave. (known as the Fisher Building), was built in 1890. The most northern portion of that building was built three years after the original portion.

Theresa Flais of Mason Equity Group, owner of the Tobias Building immediately south of the Heckenaur Building, stated an engineer will survey the damage on her company’s behalf Thursday. There was no word on the fate of the Tobias Building.

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Submited at Sunday, August 5th, 2012 at 11:30 am on Uncategorized by ethan
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