Independence Township officials are hoping to hold onto a deteriorating piece of local history.
At the Feb. 15 regular board meeting, township Supervisor Dave Wagner informed trustees he would like to look into a new development option for the McCord farmhouse and barn property located on Pine Knob Rd.
The old farmhouse, barn and other outbuildings on 2.23 acres of land, in addition to 34.31 acres of open space across the roadway, were given to the township by Stonewall Farms, LLC several years ago.
The property originally belonged to the Stickney-McCord families. Janet Stickney McCord sold the property to Stonewall Farms, LLC, which then transferred a portion of the property to Independence Township during some development negotiations.
During the property transfer, a PUD agreement was drawn between the township and Stonewall Farms, LLC. The property has since sat vacant, minus some vagrant and vandalism problems.
‘It would be a shame to loose these two treasures in the township,? said Wagner.
To save the landmark, Wagner and township attorney Kathryn Caruso propose allowing a developer to restore the property to historic condition and then use the home for residential purposes.
However, one step stands in the way.
According to Caruso, the property’s PUD agreement states the house and barn must be restored and then taken for ‘public use or purpose.?
‘Basically, it needs to be used for a purpose like a museum,? said Caruso.
Caruso added few developers would be interested in restoring the property, and then turning the costly endeavor over for public use.
‘We have been contacted though by developers who are interested in restoring the property and using it for residential use,? said Caruso.
Caruso and Wagner told trustees there are two options to allow the property for public use: one, find a title company willing to insure over the restriction and allow the property for residential use or two, go back to the original agreement and negotiate with Stonewall Farms, LLC to remove the phrase ‘and community purpose? and replace with ‘residential use.?
‘We would begin with the title company,? said Caruso.
Trustee Dan Travis voiced his support for the idea, considering the amount of money involved in restoring the prop erty and the lack of interest from developers in creating a museum. He also stated he felt Janet Stickney McCord would be fine with the property being used for residential purposes.
‘She has no vested interest remaining,? he stated. ‘The realization is this almost has to be this way, with a developer restoring this for residential use.
‘I think we should move ahead.?
‘We can’t just let it sit there and fall over,? agreed Wagner.
Wagner said a motion was not needed at this time. He said he was looking for confirmation from trustees to move ahead with researching the options for restoring the property.