It’s just as he found it, Pete Clark said.
The Wellsville property owner’s historic building at 418 Main St., was reported “unsafe” Wednesday evening at a Wellsville City Council meeting.
Clark, who’s owned the building since 1993, said the city became interested in the building’s structural integrity after a another historic Franklin County building recently was deemed a hazard.
“[The Wellsville City Council] was discussing whether [the Wellsville building is] structurally sound, mainly because of the stuff that’s been going on in Ottawa,” Clark said, referring to the building at 124 S. Main St., Ottawa, which now is being demolished after Ottawa city commissioners declared it unsafe.
The 127-year-old Wellsville structure, which Clark said was the first brick building constructed in the city, originally was a bank. Built in 1885, the building now is used for storage, Clark said, and is not open to the public.
Cracks are visible on the building’s north wall, Clark said, but the flaws were present when he purchased the structure nearly two decades ago.
“The building looks just about the same today like when I bought it, except for the carpet wall,” Clark said, referring to a part of the structure that was damaged by wind.
The city council decided Wednesday evening that a structural engineer must inspect the building to determine whether it is safe to remain, Clark said.
(Read more in The Ottawa Herald http://www.ottawaherald.com/tweet/042712building)