Is there use for Blue Building?

McMinnville officials voted earlier this week to move forward with plans to buy the Regions Bank building on Court Square and, eventually, make it the new city hall.

If I live to be 92, I don’t think I’ll ever see government act so quickly again. In a matter of months, our city leaders went from announcing problems with their current home, the Blue Building, to finding a replacement site, to voting on an ordinance to buy that site. The beeping noise you hear is the sound of moving trucks backing up.

I’m impressed. Remember these are the same folks who took a year and a half to hire one guy to take care of city plants and landscaping.

Not that I’m complaining. I like the city’s new-found sense of alacrity. But the main question it leaves in my mind is what’s going to happen to the Blue Building, the ancient structure that’s currently imploding around city government.

I touched on the Blue Building and its fate in last week’s column but the few paragraphs I devoted to the topic barely scratch the surface. And I can’t help but wonder if the Blue Building can be salvaged at all. Remember, construction on the original structure began in 1869. It has seen its better days.

‘The Blue Building is the biggest negative we have whether we stay or move,’ said McMinnville Mayor Royce Davenport. ‘It’s not feasible for the taxpayers to pick up the tab for us to redo the building. If you look at it, there’s nothing particularly attractive about it, and it’s huge. It’s 60,000 square feet.’

I mentioned in last week’s column about the possibility of a non-profit organization taking up the Blue Building’s cause and leading renovation efforts if and when the city leaves. Upon further review, I don’t think that’s a realistic goal.

For starters, just look at the Park Theater, a renovation project much, much smaller than the Blue Building. Despite volunteer efforts to raise funds to restore the theater to working condition, this lengthy process has been short on results. I don’t see the Blue Building being any different.

On top of that, a renovated Blue Building has no practical purpose if city government is gone. County government already has a nice home. The school system has an adequate central office. If city government moves to Court Square, then who needs the Blue Building?

Sure, there might be some organization that could make good use of a room or two. But 60,000 square feet is out of the question.

When asked if he could think of any use for a renovated Blue Building with the city gone, Davenport didn’t have an answer.

‘The building was obsolete when the school system quit using it in the ’60s,’ said Davenport. ‘I personally don’t foresee anything that could go in there. We’ve talked about forming a study group and having professionals come in and tell us what can be done as far as walls, woodwork and things of that nature. If someone has an idea we’re open to listening.’

I put the Blue Building and its 4 acres in the same boat as Powermatic and its 19 acres, and the old hospital and its 9 acres. All three buildings are located on prime real estate around McMinnville, but all three buildings are functionally obsolete. The land would be worth more without the buildings.

It’s a perplexing situation and one without an easy answer. The only thing we know for sure is that anything done to the Blue Building will be a costly endeavor and that includes everything from renovation to demolition.

James Clark is editor of the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].