Developer David Ball is out to rescue the Pythian Castle. He bought it from the Lucas County Land Bank for $300, which also handed him a check for $274,300. That’s nice work if you can get it. But if he can restore life to the dying building, he’ll nonetheless have Toledo’s appreciation.
The 126-year-old landmark has been vacant for 41 years. It has a striking, unique exterior, and some beautiful interior details remain. But large parts of floors have fallen down, and others are in bad shape. Pieces have fallen off the exterior, endangering passersby. The task before him, Mr. Ball said, is basically one of building a new building in an old shell, salvaging and reusing as many interior details as he can.
Click here to read more Blade editorials
The Land Bank’s chairman, Lucas County Treasurer Wade Kapszukiewicz, said the Land Bank acquired the building through a tax foreclosure and to demolish it might have approached $1 million.
Mr. Kapszukiewicz told The Blade that Mr. Ball has three years to make the building habitable or he’ll have to pay back $274,000. And either way, Mr. Kapszukiewicz said, that money is “a drop in the bucket” of the cost of the project. Mr. Kapszukiewicz said there were no other buyers competing for the building; only one other group had shown interest since the Land Bank acquired it, and that had fallen through.
But Mr. Ball said he’s wanted to do this project so long he bought a parking lot on the block 14 years ago. He envisions the castle as a combination of commercial and residential space and the adjacent former Greyhound station, which he also owns, as commercial.
Mr. Kapszukiewicz sees the combined project as a bridge from the Warehouse District to Uptown, helping to re-energize Toledo’s urban core.
There is justifiable skepticism when the government, or a quasi-governmental entity like the Land Bank, hands a businessman property and a large check. But right now, the Pythian Castle appears to have no economic value. Otherwise, it would not have been vacant for generations, and it would have attracted other bidders. So the Land Bank is betting on the only real option it has.
Now it is up to Mr. Ball, who has not succeeded in all his ventures, to transform the Pythian Castle into something usable. If he succeeds here, he’ll end up with an economically valuable building and a historic landmark will be saved. If he fails, the city loses and a part of our architectural heritage will be obliterated. But as of today, there is no chance of saving the castle. This is a chance.
The Pythian Castle is a precious part of Toledo’s architectural history, one we could lose if it isn’t repaired. This deal is worth a try.
First Published December 3, 2016, 5:00 a.m.
