The Bischoff Foundation Inc. announced last week that it has voted to demolish the building owned by the late Robert H. Bischoff, Jr. Mr. Bischoff passed away in 2020. The building was constructed in 1914 by Tet Woods and is located at 307 Main Street.
After the death of Mr. Bischoff, he left generous proceeds of his estate to establish the Bischoff Foundation. After over three years of obtaining various proposals, structural engineering studies and environmental reports, the trustees of the foundation have made the decision to raze the building and focus on the future of the property.
The trustees of the foundation determined through careful planning and consultation with others that the only financially viable path was to tear down the building, as its condition has significantly deteriorated in the past few decades. Recently, an environmental study report showed that a known human carcinogen was in the building, which would have increased the cost for renovation.
The trustees of the foundation released a joint statement on the matter: “This decision was made after careful planning, fact-finding, research and deliberation,” said the foundation. “We have an obligation to continue the legacy of Mr. Bischoff and strongly feel that providing this community with scholarships and a functional community center best honor his wishes, rather than spending his entire estate on a building that will deplete the estate to the point that there will be insufficient funds to operate the facility or carry out other requests of Mr. Bischoff.”
Even with a full renovation, in many respects the building would still be functionally obsolete. Renovations would have required additional square footage for the construction of new restroom and kitchen facilities.
The foundation plans to re-build a community/multi-purpose space on the property and is currently seeking input on the future of the property. Community surveys can be found at the West Union Post Office or can be taken online by visiting: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/N96S98C
While the building is scheduled for demolition this year, work is currently underway to salvage all historically significant and unique features of the building for possible incorporation into a new building.
