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Petitions ask building be adapted for Drug Mart

LISBON

It did not take long for local preservationist Stevie Halverstadt to spring into action after learning the former Taste of Country restaurant/Pine Tree Inn would likely be razed to make way for a Discount Drug Mart store.

Halverstadt said she and another supporter have collected more than 350 signatures on petitions asking the nearly 200-year-old building be preserved and somehow incorporated into the new DDM, to be located on more than three acres located just north of town in Center Township.

“My concern is for the building to be readapted. Many people are able to readapt old buildings” into new uses, she said.

Halverstadt became aware of DDM’s plans after reading in the newspaper Dec. 29  the company was seeking a state liquor license for the property where the former Taste of Country is located. Meanwhile, the property was sold last week to DDM Lisbon LLC for $225,000 by Trumbull County businessman Ed Yasechko, who purchased the property at auction in September 2014.

Yasechko also acquired the car wash next door, which was included in the deal.

Halvertstadt was encouraged by her phone conversation with David Boodjeh, DDM’s vice president of operations, who told her he would have the developer check into whether there were any historical issues with the site that need resolved. Boodjeh could not be reached for comment, but Halverstadt said he told her, “We certainly don’t want to disrupt the historical value of the community we want to serve,” according to the message left on her phone.

The project developer is Giltz and Associates of Canton, and Grant Giltz said Boodjeh did ask them to look into if there were any problems with the site. The house is located in an unzoned area and is not a state or federally designated historical structure, nor is it in a designated historical district.

Halverstadt noted some businesses such as McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks have located stores in existing historical buildings, but she conceded this likely occurred in places that have zoning or in designated historical districts, neither of which applies in this instance.

The former restaurant and tavern began as the home of Levi Hanna, whose family arrived in Columbiana County in 1801 — two years before Ohio became a state. Levi Hanna’s father purchased a farm outside of Lisbon in 1804 and later built a home for his son on the property. Levi is the uncle of Lisbon native Marcus Hanna, who went on to become a U.S. senator from Ohio after serving as President William McKinley’s closest political adviser.

Although Halverstadt does not know when the home was built, she said a township trustee told her he saw Levi Hanna’s name and the year 1822 etched into the structure’s stone fireplace.

Halverstadt heads the Lisbon Landmark Foundation, a committee of the Lisbon Area Chamber of Commerce devoted to preserving the village’s historic structures. Chamber president Susan Shank addressed the issue at this week’s meeting, saying she believes it would be inappropriate for the organization to support Halverstadt in her efforts.

“I want to make it clear the chamber of commerce is in the business of welcoming new businesses to the area. I think preservation is important … but if that was going to be done they should have been approached sooner. It sat vacant for what, three years?” she said.

Chamber director Marilyn McCullough was concerned about the impact a new competitor would have on existing stores. “We don’t want to lose what we have,” she said.

Chamber member Jim Sanor said there is not much they can do about that. “Businesses come and businesses go and that’s the inevitable thing with (competition),” he said.

Although Halverstadt and her fellow petitioners are fighting an uphill battle, she hopes the developers will give serious consideration to preserving the house.

“There are only so many Renee Lewises and Bert Dawsons,” she said, referring to her sister, who put millions of dollars into turning the former Hamilton Building in Lisbon into the Courthouse Inn. County Engineer Bert Dawson has restored the old train depot in town and a local covered bridge and is doing the same with an iron truss bridge being relocated to the county fairgrounds.

tgiambroni@mojonews.com

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