BUCHANAN­ — On the corner of Main and Third streets sits a large, reddish brown house, complete with peeling paint and loose shingles. While from the outside the house may seem non-descript, it has launched a heated debate among the community of Buchanan.

The 150-year-old house, located at 212 Main St. in Buchanan, was a topic of contention at Monday’s Buchanan city commissioners meeting following rumors that the owner of the home was looking to demolish the property. As a result, several members of the Buchanan Preservation Society spoke at the meeting asking the commissioners to put a six-month moratorium on the issuing of any demolition permit for the property.

“The house is a substantial work of art and a substantial asset to Buchanan,” said Don Ryman, a member of the preservation society. “Demolition would be irreversible and permanent.”

According to a document the preservation society provided to the city commission, the full goal of the preservation society would be to see the commission:

• Place a six-month moratorium on consideration of a demolition request

• Encourage the re-sale of the property to a qualified purchaser

• Encourage work with the city to create a package of financial incentives to encourage conversion of the house to a lodging operation or some other use consistent with the city’s master plans

• Set a two-year time limit for project completion.

In addition, the group is asking the commission to encourage the current owner of the property to set the price of the property at a dollar amount the preservation society would deem “reasonable.” The preservation society has already spoken with the property owner about purchasing the property, but the price he quoted was deemed “unreasonable” by the society.

Preservation society members defended their request to the city commission by saying that architecture and history of the house was worth preserving and that historical homes like the one located at Main  and Third streets are part of what draws people to the city of Buchanan. 

“The house is a classic example of the Italian style of architecture. This relates back to the architecture of the palaces in Florence, [Italy], as does most of the downtown architecture of the city of Buchanan,” Ryman said. “Not many towns have the classic architecture that Buchanan has, which makes it all the more important to preserve what we have in the Italian and Greek revival styles. The [six-month moratorium] would give us some time to find a way to preserve this irreplaceable work of art.”

Even if the city does end up demolishing the property, it is the goal of the preservation to start a dialogue about the issue and to entertain ways of saving it, said Michael Rowland, of the preservation society.

Owner of the property Jeremy Frame, who also owns local business Frame Products, Inc., said that those who were asking for the commission to block demolition of the property were not aware of the true condition of the property.

Frame also added that the property and issue surrounding it has blown up on social media, and that images of the home circulating on the internet showed the home in the state it was a decade ago, which does not represent the state of the home today.

“If you actually go up there and look, there’s no plumbing. There’s no electrical,” he said. “The walls need to be stripped down. The foundation is crumbling.… I don’t see this house as being worth the costs to repair it.”

Frame said that as he is the owner of a local manufacturing business, his plans to turn the property into a parking lot will ultimately benefit Buchanan because it will allow him to grow his business and, therefore, bring more jobs to the city.

Should the city commission place the preservation society’s recommended six-month hold on a demolition permit, Frame said he would be willing to work more with the preservation society, if they met him halfway or came forward with an offer on the property.

“It’s actually my executive right as a landlord to do what I want with the property,” Frame said. “I do feel for everyone, but I don’t think people really have an understanding for the shape the building is really in.”

At the time of press, the city commission did not respond with a date they would make a decision on the issue.