Members of the Historic Preservation Committee will discuss the fate of the Emporium building at their next meeting at noon on Sept. 8.

LOGAN – Details of Logan City’s revised plans for the Emporium and adjacent buildings on Main St. will be discussed as a workshop item at the next meeting of the Historical Preservation Committee (HPC).

That meeting is scheduled at noon on Tuesday, Sept. 8 in the Logan City Council Chambers at 290 North, 100 West.

Although no decisions will be made at that time, Mayor Holly Daines has invited all interested parties to attend that meeting or watch it live on the city’s Facebook page.

In an Aug. 17 letter to the local business community, Daines said that the city has abandoned its controversial 2019 plan to build residence housing and a parking terrace within the so-called Center Block area. The Center Block is bounded by Center St. on the south, Main St. on the east, 100 North on the north and 100 West to the west.

Instead, the mayor wrote, Logan will now focus on “building a city plaza in the footprint of the Emporium buildings … to create a gathering place for performances, outdoor activities, interactive features, dining, public art and walking connections …”

The approval of the members of the HPC will be crucial for any revitalization plans for the downtown area. Although Logan owns the Emporium and adjacent buildings, demolition of those structures has been blocked until now by an HPC ruling.

The agenda for the HPC meeting on Sept. 8 calls for committee members to consider issuing certificates of appropriateness for a facade remodel for an existing building adjacent to the Bluebird Restaurant on Main St. and a new two-story office building at 72 E. Center St.

Workshop items on the HPC agenda include discussions about the demolition of the Emporium and the preservation of the ruins of the historic Thatcher Mill along 100 South St.

The Logan Municipal Council simultaneously established the boundaries of the Center Street Historic District and created the Historic Preservation Committee in 1978.

The duties of the HPC include working to protect and preserve the district through project review and the issuance of certificates of appropriateness for all exterior modifications to any site or building within the district’s boundaries.

The members of the HPC are Thomas Graham, Amy Hochberg, David Lewis, Keith Mott, Gary L. Olsen, Christian Wilson and Bronwyn O’Hara.







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