Building codes, ordinances and zoning are understandable, but I would caution the city or any governing board to be careful before you start mandating what business property owners can do with their property.
Honest Bike Shop’s building was built 100 years ago and has charm with its history, but don’t tell me I can’t knock it down and rebuild. Like any other piece of equipment, when repair becomes more expensive than replacing, you replace. The first thing taught in Accounting 101 is that buildings do wear out and they can become obsolete, which is why the IRS allows for depreciation.
It is absurd that those with no skin in the game are telling business owners what to do with their money and fixed assets. If they feel the Days Inn/Hotel Carlton building should be saved, then maybe they should pony up their own money and try to do something financially viable with it.
The Hotel Carlton building cannot be re-purposed easily, either. A nightmare to update, historical preservation status would tie the owner’s hands and destroy his opportunity to do well by his property’s future.
I loved Central Junior High School with its courtyards, theater, tunnel to the Coffman building with its swimming pool and glass atrium, but the two buildings were inefficient, expensive to heat, had no air conditioning, no athletic field, no parking, could not be re-purposed effectively and sat on real estate that could be better used.
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Sometimes, like a former love that didn’t work out, you just have to let it go to memory.
Paul Myhrom,Rochester
