The Louisville Grain Elevator is on life support.

With a six-month, city-issued stay on the demolition of the 109-year-old building having expired less than a week ago, the owners of one of the region's last standing wooden grain elevators are now free to roll in the wrecking ball any time they want.

Which makes Tuesday night's City Council meeting -- in which the city's elected leaders will be asked to make Louisville's biggest historic preservation decision ever -- critical to the fate of the dilapidated, yet iconic, structure just south of downtown.

"At some point, and we're pretty close to that point, the city has to come up with money to avoid the wrecking ball," said Phil Irwin, a broker who represents the owners of the 1.2-acre parcel where the Louisville Grain Elevator sits. "We do have a guy lined up to start the demolition process. It's time for the city to determine what it wants because time is up."

Irwin said the primary property owners, the Decker family and Barbara Stahr, have worked patiently with Louisville for several years to try to find a mutually agreeable way of disposing of the parcel, which includes a vacant 3,300-square-foot building that once housed an auto parts shop.

They only are willing to give Louisville a couple more weeks to hammer out the details of a deal that would save the grain elevator, he said.

But it won't be cheap.

If you go

What: Louisville City Council discussion on grain elevator

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Louisville City Hall, 749 Main St.

More info:

Louisville Grain Elevator options

Option 1:

-- Louisville provides developer $2.1 million -- $1.7 million in 2012, $400,000 in 2013 -- from its historic preservation fund to buy, stabilize and improve the grain elevator.

-- City waives any obligation for open space dedication.

-- City provides a 50 percent rebate of the city's building permit fees and construction use tax paid on building materials.

Option 2:

-- Louisville buys the parcel and grain elevator for $950,000 and commits $700,000 to stabilizing it.

-- City potentially devotes additional funds to redevelop the property, presumably in partnership with a developer.

-- City sells or donates the property to a party willing to assume the obligations associated with owning and redeveloping the property into a commercial or retail use.

On Tuesday night, Louisville council members will vote on whether to commit $2.1 million to help Boulder-based Amterre Property Group buy, stabilize and restore the elevator as part of a commercial redevelopment of the property. The deal also would rebate Amterre 50 percent of the city's building permit fees and construction use taxes, while exempting the redevelopment project from having to make any open space dedications.

The council also will decide whether to reserve an option for the city itself to purchase the property and stabilize the structure -- to the tune of $1.65 million -- should the deal with Amterre fall apart.

Aaron DeJong, Louisville's economic development director, said the city would rather do a deal with a private developer so that it isn't left trying to market a property in what is an uncertain environment for commercial projects. However, either option before the council spares the grain elevator, he said, and keeps an important part of Louisville's past intact.

"There are a lot of folks out there who want to see this building get preserved, but on the other side, there's a lot of money needed to do so," DeJong said Monday. "To throw in $2.1 million as a potential amount speaks volumes about the level of interest the city has in keeping the building where it is."

Condition a 'mess'

But where the grain elevator is, coupled with the condition it's in, has made it a beast to deal with.

Michael Kranzdorf, Amterre's president, said the structure's interior is a "mess" and not conducive to a quick makeover. To begin with, there are six large wooden grain bins in the center of the building that need to be incorporated into any redesign as part of the historical preservation effort.

While he has heard from business people interested in launching a brewpub or restaurant in what would be a landmark building in town, Kranzdorf said opening day is a long way off and a lot can go wrong between now and then.

"It's just still not clear how usable it's going to be," he said of the three-story elevator.

Ultimately, he said, there is no guarantee the grain elevator can be restored for $650,000, which is the cost an engineering firm identified last year after being hired by the city to do a structural assessment. Amterre has a contract on the property for $950,000.

"The risks involved with this project are that it's a 100-year-old building that hasn't been occupied in 50 years," Kranzdorf said. "In addition, you have a building with an odd layout and we don't know what the cost is going to be to get a tenant in there. And can you make those costs back in rent?"

That's why Kranzdorf expressed a willingness to take on the elevator-saving project so long as the city provided significant financial assistance along the way.

'Historic and authentic' town

Louisville would tap its sales tax-fed historic preservation fund, while relying on an internal loan from the city's general fund to cover any shortages, to pay for either option. In the deal with Amterre, the city would commit $1.7 million this year and $400,000 next year. The city also can apply for state and federal grants to help fund restoration of the grain elevator.

Peter Stewart, chairman of the Louisville Historic Preservation Commission, said his only concern with that proposal is that the heavy price tag for the grain elevator threatens to deplete the historic preservation fund and starve other worthy structures in the city of funding for restoration.

He said preservation fund monies should be aimed strictly at stabilization and restoration of the Louisville Grain Elevator -- around $650,000 -- and not necessarily to the purchase of the land or to cover incentives to the developer.

"That would be excluding other properties from being able to apply for the funds," he said.

But Stewart said of the utmost importance is saving the grain elevator, which features rare "stacked planking" construction. Whether it's for the city's legacy or its economic health, he said, the building must not be allowed to succumb to the wrecking ball.

"We'll lose part of what's unique about the character of Louisville," Stewart said. "We'll lose that niche market that appreciates a historic and authentic town."
