Improvements are on the horizon for what could be the worst looking building on McMinnville’s Court Square.
Ben Myers, current owner of the old Hargrove building, has requested from the Historic Zoning Commission a certificate of appropriateness (COA) to undergo significant renovation to the building by refurbishing existing windows, replacing the plywood with actual windows, replacing the roof, and stabilizing the crumbing exterior walls.
Commission members heard the request Tuesday.
Myers asked about the presence of vinyl windows in some buildings downtown.
“Our plan is to restore and not replace the windows,” said Myers. “I have noticed that buildings downtown have replacement windows put in. My contractor was asking me about the vinyl windows in other buildings. It looks like they’ve been vinyl recently. We’re planning to put real windows back in but the question was ‘Do we have to?’ given that other buildings have vinyl windows.”
Per the guidelines, historic windows should be repaired rather than replaced.
Despite the guidelines, some building owners have practiced forgiveness over permission in restoring their buildings by placing vinyl windows without first obtaining approval from the Historic Zoning Commission. In general, any noticeable alteration to a building requires HZC approval in the form of a certificate of appropriateness.
Commission members urged Myers to stick to the guidelines and unanimously approved his COA.