It may not look like renovations are under way on the Pythian Castle from the outside, but inside contractors have rebuilt the five floors of the historic downtown Toledo building from the ground up.
Developer Dave Ball, who in 2016 acquired the nearly 130-year-old building at Jefferson Avenue and Ontario Street from the Lucas County Land Bank, said he envisions the renovated building will house either a mix of commercial and residential units or a single business will occupy the whole space.
Regardless of what it will be used for, it will be another once-blighted downtown building restored to productive use.
“It’s such a big addition to what downtown will become,” Mr. Ball said.
Mr. Ball paid $300 for the 35,000-square-foot building, and the land bank gave him $247,000 toward replacing the roof and stabilizing the structure’s tower. He has until the end of November to produce a certificate of occupancy or he’ll have to pay that money back, according to his agreement with the land bank.
It’s a fast-approaching deadline, but one Mr. Ball said he is confident he’ll meet even after significant structural issues and a tough 2017-18 winter season delayed critical stabilization work.
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The building had been vacant since 1974, and when contractors first went inside they discovered a collapsed roof that took all five floors down with it. Crews had to install a steel support structure to stabilize the castle’s gothic turrets and clear piles of debris before they could begin reconstructing the building from the basement up.
“That’s why it took the time it took,” Mr. Ball said.
He hopes to have a roof on the building by spring, the last major step to complete before more cosmetic renovations can move forward. Crews plan to restore brickwork on the interior and keep the high ceilings and tall windows. Mr. Ball’s goal is to restore the castle’s exterior to highlight its original look.
“It was beautiful,” he said. “I just felt it couldn’t be demolished.”
The building was built by the fraternal organization Knights of Pythias, which left in 1951 after selling the property to Greyhound Lines. It hasn’t been occupied since the 1970s, and in 2013 the land bank took ownership through a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.
“The Pythian Castle is a historic treasure, and once restoration is finished it can add to another century of opportunity in downtown Toledo,” said David Mann, the land bank’s president and chief executive.
Mr. Ball also owns the adjacent property, a former Greyhound bus terminal and its parking lot, which adds to the appeal for future tenants.
First Published January 15, 2019, 11:30 a.m.
