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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2009 > March > 08
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Editorial: Time for the city to tear down Ecki building
Any city needs to be careful about what it destroys. Old structures are cards cities can play. In the eyes of many people — not all, to be sure — they add something to the quality of life, connecting generations, offering a sense of belonging to something bigger than oneself.
But some things are not worth saving, not compared with the alternative.
When a city or a neighborhood has to struggle for any economic development it can get, sometimes something has to give. So it is now with the Ecki Building at Wayne Avenue and Wyoming streets in Dayton.
The Spanish Colonial Revival-style building is more interesting than most buildings around it. But it isn’t attractive from the front now, and it’s downright ugly from the back; and the back is exposed.
Most important, it’s at a crucial corner. That commercial intersection needs to be put to the best use possible. It needs a fresh start.
The residential neighborhood behind it is in need of redevelopment, for which it seems ripe. The intersection and some nearby neighborhoods already have growing vitality, suggesting that some businesses could do well. There’s a demand for new shopping opportunities, especially a modern supermarket.
The corner was to be part of a new development featuring a Kroger to replace the smaller one already on Wayne. That deal fell apart before a final resolution had been reached on the Ecki building.
Some people had pushed to have the building preserved, or, failing that, to have the facade preserved, or failing that, to have at least a part of the facade preserved, even if it had to be moved.
In truth, however, that effort has never generated much enthusiasm among the people who live in the struggling area east of Wayne and north of Wyoming. They have supported development with little or no conditions. The insistence by historical preservationists that the development ought to somehow look urban rather than suburban has fallen on a lot of deaf ears.
Now the city of Dayton has plans to buy the building, with thoughts of demolition. That’s the best course.
The city must make the site attractive to developers, minimizing the problems they will run into. The record so far has shown that goal won’t be fulfilled easily. Every stage is difficult, from locking up the land, to attracting developers, to agreeing on usage, to finding tenants.
To keep hope alive in the wake of Kroger’s decision not to go forward — to show that Dayton is still serious — the city also is renewing its options to buy some properties. That expenditure might seem strange for a city that is cutting back on jobs. But the money will not come from the general fund that pays workers’ salaries, but from dedicated bonds.
At any rate, the city cannot afford to lose sight of the future as it struggles to get from day to day. Short-sightedness will not help.
As it looks to the future, Dayton must sometimes look to the past, too. But not this time.
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