IU plans to demolish historic building

IU officials announced last week plans for the demolition of the historic Margrave Apartments on East Third Street.\nThe structure, which is vacant, contains 22 apartment units and was built in the late 1920s, said Nancy Hiestand, programming manager for housing and neighborhood development.\nAfter the demolition, a new building will be erected that will house the IU School of Optometry clinic. Currently, it is located in the IU School of Optometry.\nThe cost of the two-story, 17,000-square-foot building will be about $3 million.\nThe Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission is upset IU is demolishing another historic building, said Lisa Abbott, director of Bloomington’s Housing and Neighborhood Development. IU demolished the Kappa Sigma fraternity house last year. Abbott said buildings that appear on the 1996 Inventory of Historic Sites and Structures, which includes Margrave Apartments, should be preserved. The inventory is a list compiled by the Department of Natural Resources, which identifies buildings of historical value.\nLynn Coyne, the assistant vice president for real estate and economic development at IU, said the University looked into renovating the East Third Street property but in the end, it was cost-prohibitive. The old structure is not adaptable for modern academic research and uses, Coyne said.\n“We do care about properties of true academic nature,” Coyne said. “We’ve spent a great deal of money renovating buildings in the past. (Margrave Apartments) was not an academic building; it was a (22-unit) apartment building.”\nDespite the controversy surrounding the demolition, Coyne said the relationship with the mayor’s office and IU is strong.\n“HPC does not always agree with the decision we have to make, and that’s fine,” Coyne said.\nAbbott said she thinks the mayor would like a better dialogue between the University and the community in the future.\nNo demolition date has been set because the Department of Natural Resources must sign off on the action within 30 days. Abbott said she has no plans to appeal the decision.