Historic Saye Building Demolished in Athens Amid Preservation Battles

Strategic Insights -

The historic downtown Saye Building in Athens, a 22,000-square-foot structure built in the 1920s, has been demolished after a lengthy preservation battle with the Athens First United Methodist Church. The church purchased the property in 2004 and initially planned to renovate it, but eventually decided to demolish it due to its poor condition. The dispute over the building's future highlighted the challenges in balancing preservation and growth in Athens-Clarke County.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Saye Building was a significant historic property in downtown Athens, housing various businesses and organizations over the years, including automobile-related businesses, a bus company, a business college, and law offices.
  • The Athens First United Methodist Church, which purchased the property in 2004, initially planned to renovate the building but ultimately decided to demolish it due to its poor condition, citing that it did not make financial sense to save the building.
  • The demolition of the Saye Building was met with opposition from preservationists, who had supported a proposal to buy the property for $3 million and turn it into a mixed-use space. The group had also offered to invest an additional $5 million to $8 million in taxes credits and other funding to support the project.
  • The church began pursuing demolition in 2018, after an initial denial by Athens-Clarke County was followed by a demolition moratorium and creation of a downtown historic district aimed at protecting the building. A court challenge by the church resulted in the removal of the building from the historic district and the issuance of a demolition permit.
  • The demolition has prompted proposed changes to the county's demolition permitting process that could help protect historic properties, which will be voted on by the County Commission on Tuesday.

Statistics:

  • 22,000 square feet: The size of the Saye Building
  • $3,000,000: The amount proposed by preservationists to buy the Saye Building
  • $5,000,000 - $8,000,000: The estimated additional investment proposed by preservationists to renovate the Saye Building
  • 1920s: The decade when the Saye Building was constructed
  • 2004: The year when the Athens First United Methodist Church purchased the Saye Building
  • 2018: The year when the church began pursuing demolition

Sources:

  • (no specific source mentioned in the article regarding the demolition process)
  • (no specific source mentioned in the article regarding the preservationists' proposal)
  • (no specific source mentioned in the article regarding the county's historic preservation efforts)
  • (no specific source mentioned in the article regarding the church's plans for the cleared tract)