Blacksmith Shop Owner Asks Judge To Overturn City Decision: Report

GENEVA, IL — The Shodeen Family Foundation, the group that owns the circa 1843 limestone blacksmith shop, asked a judge to overturn Geneva's denial of its request to de-designate the building's landmark status and move forward with demolition, according to reports from Shaw Local.

The Oct. 27 filing names the Geneva City Council and the Historic Preservation Commission as defendants as it asks the court to review and reverse the city's final order from Sept. 26, the outlet reported.

The matter went before City Council after the foundation's attorney requested an appeal following the Historic Preservation Committee's vote Aug. 15 to deny the demolition and de-designation request for the Alexander Brothers' Blacksmith Shop, standing at 4 E. State St.

The one-story building, once home to the popular Mill Race Inn restaurant, is one of the oldest surviving commercial structures in Geneva, according to Landmark Illinois.

RELATED: City Council Votes To Save Historic Geneva Blacksmith Shop

Owners first applied for demolition after saying the shop could not be economically renovated and put into service. The finding was based on a proposed development scenario to repurpose the structure as a single-occupant management office for the foundation, Patch reported.

The property was identified in 2008 as one of the 63 in Geneva that should be landmarked and protected, as it played an "important role in illustrating how Genevans have lived throughout the years," according to city documents. In 2018, City Council approved its landmark designation and three years later reduced it to just the limestone structure rather than the entire 1.4-acre plot of land it sits on.