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YSU trustees OK razing building
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
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The Thompson/Sacherman House on Lincoln Avenue on the Youngstown State University campus was slated for demolition but has been given a stay to allow a committee comprised of university and community members to research possible alternatives.
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
Youngstown State University trustees voted to deconstruct or demolish the historic Thompson/ Sacherman House as part an amendment to the Centennial Campus Master Plan.
The vote came Wednesday at trustees’ regular meeting. Its finance and facilities committee had approved the resolution at a meeting earlier this month.
The recommendation to demolish the building, made by the administration, cited the building’s deteriorated state and the expense to renovate it without having a university purpose for it.
Previous language in the Centennial Master Plan called for considering reuse of the building for university departments and centers.
The new language reads, “document this historic property to Secretary to Interior Standards and catalogue the documentation with the university archivist” and deconstruct or demolish the property and landscape the remaining parcel.
“Consider reuse of this property for an academically related purpose such as an urban garden,” the new language reads.
The house, which sits on Lincoln Avenue between Inner Circle Pizza and the Beat coffeehouse, was built in 1882 by Rufus F. Thompson. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Trustees also approved the framework of a new 2020 strategic plan for the university. The final document is expected to be completed in early 2011.
“This document reflects the input of hundreds of individuals on campus and in the community and will be used to guide us through the next decade and help us align the university’s priorities, investments and initiatives over that period,” YSU President Cynthia E. Anderson said.
She said it will lead everyone — trustees, administration and all others on campus — “in everything we do as we move into the next chapter of the institution’s history.”
The panel also approved a resolution to name the Cafaro Family Lobby and Track in the Watson and Tressel Training Site, or WATTS. The Cafaro family, which also has contributed to other facilities and programs at YSU, gave $1 million to construction of the new indoor practice facility on campus.