Parking lot will be built for now
Demolition of the old Top Hat Formal Wear building at the corner of Third Avenue and Broad Street, along with two adjacent buildings, is essentially complete, paving the way for the new parking lot to serve downtown merchants.
The parking lot is just a temporary fix because property owner Ira Levy still has plans for construction of a three-story mixeduse retail and residential building on the property.
Levy last brought his plans for the property to the Rome Historic Preservation Commission in December of 2010. The proj- ect entailed six retail spaces on the ground floor and 26 apartments on the two upper levels. Levy said he is currently considering the residential space for condominium development.
The actual sale of apartments would provide a source of revenue for other Levy projects.
The HPC gave limited approval to Levy’s plans 21 months ago, however, one of the exceptions involved balconies Levy had planned for the units overlooking Broad Street. There was also concern about the “rhythm” of the spacing of windows facing Broad Street.
Levy said at the time that he was not willing to change his plans and as recently as this past Friday said that when he is ready to move forward with the project again that he anticipates he will bring the balconies back to the table.
“That’s what I said when I left the meeting the last time,” Levy said.
Levy said he originally contacted state officials to determine if the old Top Hat and Bible Book Store buildings could be saved but was told there was nothing salvageable.
Back in April of this year Levy was called to the Environmental Court of Rome to answer to a citation for code violations associated with the condition of the buildings at 300, 306 and 308 Broad St. The code violations ranged from foundation and structural issues to general safety concerns.
The citations were issued after the Rome Building Inspection office cited nearly two dozen Broad Street property owners in a sweep that has prompted a significant clean-up of buildings on Broad Street this year.
In the wake of the citations, Levy worked with downtown Business Improvement District leaders and the Downtown Development Authority to develop a plan which calls for a new parking lot to be developed on the site at Third and Broad as a temporary clean-up of the property until Levy is ready to move forward with plans for the retail-residential development.
The Business Improvement District agreed to contribute $ 20,000 toward the cost of demolition. Levy’s cost of demolition is estimated at $45,000. BID also contributed $15,000 to go toward repaving the lot, which Levy will lease back to the DDA for $1 a year.
The south side of the Southeast Gas Appliances building, 310 Broad St., now has an exposed wall and rooftop that will be fixed as soon as the demolition debris is removed from the site. Floyd County tax records indicate Hamp S. Moseley owns the building.
“They’re actually going to fix the footings and rebuild that wall because it wasn’t as stable as it needs to be,” said Rome Building Inspection Director Howard Gibson. “Those two buildings (Southeast Gas and Bible Book Store) were actually tied together with floor joists and ceiling joists.”
Levy has been recognized for a variety of historic rehabilitation projects in downtown Rome, ranging from the old Sterchi’s building at Fourth Avenue and Broad, to the Forrest ( Hotel) Place and the old Battery Building, now Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham. Levy is planning to redevelop the Waterfront Grill next to the Hawthorn Suites to add another two down rooms to the hotel.
He also purchased the former Zartic/Pierre food plant off Lavender Drive in West Rome and has not disclosed plans for that property yet.