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The Rock Building should be preserved
Published Wednesday, January 28, 2009
The Pike County Commission needs to take action on the Rock Building.
The downtown building with a long history is being left to deteriorate while commissioners debate what, if anything , they should do with the building.
Renovate? Too expensive, they say.
Sell? For how much, they question.
Let it sit untouched? The path of least resistance, it appears.
The commissioners should be ashamed for letting the Rock Building founder. Since the Pike County Board of Education moved out of the building, it has been reduced to an untended storage facility for files and furniture.
With no maintenance and no care its condition has continued to deteriorate.
With only a short-term vision for the future, commissioners have been unable to agree on what to do about the building and, unfortunately, are likely to simply let it be sold or, worse yet, deteriorate to the point it must be demolished.
And that’s a shame.
The Rock Building can, and should, be a cornerstone of our community. Rehabilitating and renovating old structures, while more costly than building new ones, can preserve a community’s heritage and history. There is an intangible value into protecting, preserving and treasuring what we have, rather than discounting and discarding what seems “old” and out of date. Look, For example, at the efforts made to turn Troy’s old post office into an impressive cultural arts center.
Instead of thinking “what could we do with the building?,” county leaders seem content to ignore the issue, in hopes it will go away.
Sadly, the Rock Building seems fated for the worst, if for no other reason that the commission’s lack of action.
And that will be a loss for our community.
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Comments
Posted by elvis2 (anonymous) on January 29, 2009 at 11:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Don't know who wrote this article but they nailed it dead center . If left to officials in Pike County every building they own will eventually be torn down because of the lack of simple maintenance . Guess the Courthouse should be put on the list since it's now about 60 years old . We can't have all these old buildings littering our city can we ??
A car is considered an antique when it's 25 years old , so using that figure why not require all buildings and homes be torn down when they reach that age . Sound stupid?? Well so does the lack of common sense where decisions need to be made concerning something that people want saved .
Posted by LouisianaMan (anonymous) on January 29, 2009 at 6:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I’m familiar with the structure and I can offer only one comment. The building should be preserved for the benefit of future generations. If it is allowed to crumble and turn to dust, our kids and their kids will be poorer for it. It’s time for some creative thinking. Could the building become an annex of the Pike Pioneer Museum? Perhaps a public campaign could be waged that would capture the interest and imagination of the public. Such a campaign could collect funds and coordinate volunteer labor. Has anyone in the community investigated the availability of federal grants? If offered, would there be a business willing to enter into a long-term lease in exchange for reasonable maintenance and upkeep? Come on people of Troy, put your heads together and solve this problem.
Posted by elvis2 (anonymous) on January 29, 2009 at 7:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
LouisianaMan , you show a lot of what is needed , plain old common sense . You offer some excellent suggestions. I don't think anything has been looked into toward saving this building . The keep talking about how it would be cheaper to tear down the building and erect a new one . Well I've spent many years in the construction business and that is outright false . The framework , roof and outside are in place so it certainly would not take a million dollars to refurbish the inside , especially as you suggest using volunteer labor where possible .
Posted by bluebunting (anonymous) on January 29, 2009 at 7:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Save the building................
Posted by Donna (anonymous) on January 30, 2009 at 1:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I've only been in that building a few times, and I agree that it should be saved. It is a very interesting building that has a great deal of history. So many buildings are just abandoned with no thought for future economic enterprising.
Posted by Ms_Outspoken1 (anonymous) on February 2, 2009 at 4:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Troy University must want to build some apartments on the property.
Posted by Boocat (anonymous) on February 8, 2009 at 6:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The Rock building should be saved. Also the houses on Three Notch Street they are condeming. Why isn't anything being said or done about the buildings where the roofs have fell in? They are down town and with in a block of the old Post Office. They should come down!
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