Will buildings end up in proposed park?
Private donations would be needed to move the buildings.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
POLAND -- Two buildings now standing on the future Walgreens site here may find a new home in Poland Township.
Ron Eiselstein, Streetscapes committee member, said the committee has an agreement to obtain the salvage rights to the former Red Barn building and a 1,000-square-foot garage, both located on the U.S. Route 224 site. Streetscapes is a committee that facilitates projects in the village and township.
With plans for a township community park under way, Eiselstein said the two buildings would be useful to the park area. He said preliminary plans for the park include two buildings.
The park is being created on a large parcel at the corner of Moore and Cowden roads that the township is leasing from Browning-Ferris Industries at a rate of $1 per year as part of an agreement for a landfill operated by BFI in the township.
Township Trustee Mark Naples said the park will have soccer fields, baseball fields, walking trails and picnic areas. He said the park committee is still working out details of the park layout.
Impediments
Getting the buildings from the current location to the park may have two impediments, however -- time and money.
The buildings, Eiselstein said, would have to be moved as soon as possible so work on the Walgreens site can begin.
According to Eiselstein, moving the larger Red Barn building will cost an estimated $20,000 at $10.50 a square foot. The smaller structure, he said, will cost about $4,000 to move at $4 a square foot.
Eiselstein said it would cost between $65 and $100 a square foot to build similar buildings on the park grounds.
"The savings speak for themselves in moving the buildings," he said.
Need donations
Naples said township officials are not willing to spend public money to move the buildings, and funds for the project would probably have to be donated. He said a public meeting on the matter may be scheduled in the near future.
Mike Heher, a park committee member, said relocating the buildings is unlikely because of the limited time in which it must be done. He also said the park is in the early planning stages and more in need of picnic shelters than buildings.
Still, the issue is open for discussion and under consideration by the park committee, Naples said.
Eiselstein is asking residents to call township officials and encourage the relocation of the two buildings. He said financing the move through donations should not be a problem.
"I think a lot of good citizens in Poland would come to the table and donate money," he added.
jgoodwin@vindy.com