The Franklin county Commission is facing some hard
choices over the future of the historic Chapman building in Apalachicola.
The
historic building belongs to the county, but needs some major repair work
especially on the roof over the auditorium.
It
is the northernmost example of art deco in the state of Florida, but a study by
the University of Florida called the Chapman building one of the 11 most
endangered historic buildings in the state.
The
commission recently received a $50,000 Historic Preservation Grant to repair
the roof over the auditorium.
The
problem is the structural integrity of the roof has been compromised; recently pieces
of wood have fallen on to the stage from the ceiling.
County
officials said it would be a waste of money to put a new exterior roof over a
structure that has rotten wood under the roof.
Fixing
the structural damage could add an additional 150 thousand dollars to the cost
of the repair, and the county does not have a grant to pay for that nor do they
have time to seek additional grant money before the current grant expires.
And
to top it off, the county really doesn’t have a use for the building though
commissioner Noah Lockley feels the building might be used to house the county
election office.
The
City of Apalachicola has expressed interest in acquiring the Chapman Building –
and commissioners said they might be interested in trading the building for
some useful city property, but before they approach the city they want to see
if they can find a lower cost alternative to fixing the roof.
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