“It was so generous of them to work with us,” said Terrilynn Meece, Hayner’s music and marketing manager.
The Craftsman-style home was built in 1921 by Miami County Sheriff Mont C. Spillman, a few years after the construction of the Hayner Mansion in 1914. It was a family residence until 1990 when John M. and Cheryl Cotner purchased the building, which would become the law offices of the late John Cotner for 31 years.
A grant from The Troy Foundation allowed Hayner and its Friends of Hayner Trustees to install new windows, flooring and roofing, remove a wall and paint the interior.
The annex will allow youth groups to work on projects without concern of harming flooring and furnishings in the historic Hayner home as well as allow them to be more vocal than they might be able to in the Hayner mansion where several activities can be taking place at one time.
The purchase of the Cotner building goes along with the Hayner board’s long-range plan to attempt to obtain properties on the same block as Hayner if they would be beneficial when any of those properties would come available, said David Wion, Hayner’s executive director.
The organization purchased previously a property that now serves as a parking lot and another that is a small park. “The properties help increase our footprint,” Wion said. “The Cotner Annex is just perfect for kids. The kids can work on projects there, then clean up. The house is more kid-friendly.”
Hayner also looked at a property located to the north of the Cotner house along Short Street but couldn’t pay the cost to make repairs. “They (new owners) have done a great job. We are happy to have them as neighbors,” Wion said.
For more information about booking the Annex, call the Troy-Hayner Cultural Center at 937-339-0457 or visit www.troyhayner.org/bookings. Available hours for meetings are Monday, 7-9 p.m.; Tuesday – Thursday 9 a.m. – 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday 1-5 p.m.www.troyhayner.org/bookings Available hours for meetings are Monday, 7-9 p.m.; Tuesday – Thursday 9 a.m. – 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday 1-5 p.m.
Contact this contributing writer at nancykburr@aol.com