Apartments, commercial mix to fill gap downtown

Findlay City Planning Commission approved plans Thursday for an $8 million, four-story apartment-commercial building at the site of the former Argyle building downtown, across from Marathon Petroleum Corp. Resurrection of the vacant site is a victory for downtown and local officials, who have been working to fill the space since 2012. That's when the Argyle building was destroyed by fire. The Downtown Design Review Board, which upholds aesthetics and maintenance standards for downtown properties, is expected to grant the final approval when it meets Wednesday. Construction is expected to start in spring 2023, said Tim Spencer, owner of Trivium Development, Columbus, which is developing the site. Spencer anticipates the building could be completed by summer 2024. Spencer's group bought the vacant site in August for $500,000. The building's first floor will house commercial tenants and amenities for apartment tenants, including meeting rooms, lounge space, mail and package lockers and a food delivery area, Spencer said. The second through fourth floors will have a total of 24 one- and two-bedroom apartments. Twenty-five parking spots will be located behind the building. "It obviously is a very exciting project. This has been a site that everybody has been keeping a close eye on for quite some time," Mayor Christina Muryn said moments before the planning commission vote. "I'm glad to see that it is progressing in this fashion." Then to Spencer, she said, "I'm glad to see that you were able to contain (the development) to the existing property and provide some parking." Parking is always a precious commodity downtown. Along a 16-foot alleyway between the new building and the Wine Merchant will be a patio and a pedestrian path, with lights, leading back to the parking lot. "I like the aesthetics of the alleyways," Muryn said. "Our team is looking at how we can improve the alleyways throughout downtown." When the 122-year-old Argyle building was destroyed by fire in 2012, it left an eyesore in a prominent downtown location. The vacancy has been likened to a toothless grin in the middle of downtown, and worse. Pedestrians don't like vacant lots and avoid them, making survival hard on businesses in adjacent buildings, specialists in downtown development have said. The Argyle building had four stories. The ground floor had multiple businesses. Upstairs were 32 apartments, about 20 of which were occupied when the building caught fire in 2012. Many of the residents were on a low income. The fire injured four residents.