Ashland Center credits Geneva History Museum with help during renovation

GENEVA – The owner of Ashland Center, 25 N. Third St., Geneva, credited the Geneva History Museum for helping its redevelopment project of the building, which is in the Geneva Historic District, Ashland Ventures LLC owner Paul E. Kawalek wrote in a March 23 letter to the Geneva History Museum.

The company bought the property in 2014, the letter stated.

Since then, Ashland Center has been recognized with two historic preservation awards, and earned both the EPA's Energy Star and IREM's sustainable building certifications for energy savings and green/sustainability initiatives, the letter stated.

“As you know, for an older building, this is quite special. We are proud of these achievements. We will stay the course as we move forward,” Kawalek’s letter stated. “We could not have achieved these results without the Geneva History Museum. The museum helped focus and communicate our vision by enabling us to understand how the property has evolved and influenced the community.”

The museum documents and conserves Geneva’s heritage – going beyond legacy – to assist in its ongoing growth, the letter stated.

“Ashland Center’s work reflects that. The museum plays a critical role to provide both public awareness and perspective – to educate as well as guide city visitors and the citizens of Geneva alike,” the letter stated.

Through its stewardship of the city’s written and photographic history, the museum’s research team assembled a detailed provenance of the property, Kawalek’s letter stated. This enabled company representatives to provide important context as they discussed the redevelopment plan with the Geneva Historic Preservation Commission, the letter stated.

Based on the museum’s guidance, key design and architectural elements of the property were retained and integrated into Ashland Center, the letter stated.

Elements that were preserved included the signage pylon and glass curtain wall when the building was a grocery store, as well as the vaults and doors, drive-up teller window and night depository that were added when the building was repurposed as a community bank in the late 1960s, Kawalek’s letter stated.

“Even the bank vault’s gate was preserved and restored. It now graces the property’s new patio and sustainable green space as a trellis,” Kawalek’s letter stated.

Ashland Ventures is a Herrington Circle museum member, which means the company donated more than $1,000 to the Geneva History Museum, the letter stated.

Ashland Ventures LLC also added to the museum’s reference library by donating early 20th-century bank ledgers that were discovered during Ashland Center’s renovation, Kawalek’s letter stated.

These were “incredible archives that somehow found their way into Ashland Center’s lower vault, only to languish and be abandoned by previous owners [that are now] valuable research assets of the museum,” the letter stated.

“During the restoration, we discovered three original drawings prepared by prominent local architects to support the late 1960s conversion of the building from grocery store to community bank,” Kawalek’s letter stated. “These and two of the circa 1910 bank ledgers have been carefully conserved, and are on display at the building. As always, we extend an open invitation to the museum to borrow them for exhibitions.”

The company expects to complete its core redevelopment plan for the building and its adjacent properties this summer, the letter stated.

“We are proud of our accomplishments and the impact they have had on the Historic District’s economic and aesthetic vitality,” the letter stated.

The work at Ashland Center has served as a catalyst for others to follow the company’s lead, resulting in additional property renovation and new business development on North Third Street, the letter stated.

“Ashland Ventures considers the Geneva History Museum a strategic partner in our initiatives,” Kawalek’s letter stated. “We wish to extend you and your team at the Geneva History Museum our deepest gratitude for all you have done.”