At Monday’s DeKalb City Council Meeting, there was a public hearing about what to do with the former St. Mary's hospital on Fisk Avenue. The 100-year-old building has been abandoned for decades. WNIJ news director Jenna Dooley spoke with reporter Peter Medlin about the details...
Jenna Dooley (JD): What was the public hearing about?
Peter Medlin (PM): To answer that question, let’s take a step back. There have been several plans to resurrect this old building over the years, but all of them have fallen through.
Back in 2018, the organization Safe Passage was interested. Someone else wanted to create a boutique hotel with a restaurant. That would have relied on $2 million of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funding from the city. That plan ended in a lawsuit.
Finally, in 2022, City Council approved an ordinance rezoning the site to build an apartment complex! And then, kind of nothing much happens.
There’s never a Final Development Plan — and by 2024 there were violations for not properly securing the building. There are unpaid fines, complaints from neighbors, and an apparent lack of communication from the developer, Jon Sauser.
Now, this public hearing is the city council’s way of saying come and convince us you’re serious about this project or else you’ll lose the zoning you need.
The council, and particularly city manager Bill Nicklas, seemed fed up with the lack of progress and communication over the past two or three years.
“As I sit here right now," said Nicklas, "how many times do you want to be fooled? First time, what’s the old saying, shame on me. Second time, shame on you."
Again, most of the council doesn’t actually think the zoning should be different permanently, it’s just that, in these situations, zoning is one of the few levers of power the city government has at its disposal to make the developer play ball.
JD: This was a public hearing, so did members of the public show up to speak?
PM: Yeah, a few neighbors complained about the coverings of boarded-up windows falling off the building and ending up in the street. Again, this building has been abandoned since 1992. So, I think a lot of people are just sick of nothing happening with the building.
It’s 100 years old. It’s got gothic-inspired facades on the front. There are still some good memories about the building, which has kept it from getting torn down, but those memories are fading at this point.
Another DeKalb apartment owner also spoke in support of Sauser and urged the council not to change the zoning rules.
JD: So, did the council vote to change the zoning?
PM: No, they did not. The owner, Jon Sauser, made his case. He apologized about the delays, complaints, and the fines. But the council still needed assurances that he’s serious about moving forward. So, they set deadlines. He has to pay the outstanding fines before the next council meeting and start showing them he has plans in order. Then, they’ll bring the issue back at the first council meeting in September. If, by then, there’s still no progress, then they change the zoning and be done with it.
At that point — yet again — the future of this 100-year-old building that’s been abandoned for so long would be up in the air.
