Greendale School District Asked to Partner on Hose Tower Project

The Greendale Historical Society is looking to get more muscle behind its efforts to renovate the village's historic hose tower building.

Members of the society went before the Greendale School Board at its November 7 meeting to suggest a partnership in deciding what might be the best plan for the building's future usage.

The hose tower, built in 1939, is owned by the Village of Greendale and is the only remaining original Art-Deco building left from the village's early construction.  

The Historic Society has taken the lead in restoring the building and has already spent over $70K of its own funds in repairs to the hose tower, including replacing all the bricked-up windows with historically accurate ones and fixing damaged brick work. The organization has committed an additional $25K to the project and says the building needs a new roof, tuckpointing and landscaping to fix existing drainage issues.

The Village has pledged $29K to install ADA-approved public restrooms in the building. It is also offering $100K in matching grant money over the next two years if the Historical Society can raise $50K by the end of this year and the same amount in 2012.

The total estimated cost for the project is $500K. The Historical Society is hoping a partnership with the school district could help raise some of the required funds.

In addition, because of the proximity of the hose tower to Greendale Middle School, Society members believe the school district should be involved in helping to develop a long-range plan for the historic building.

Some ideas suggested so far include using the space for community meeting rooms, space for classes offered through the Greendale Park & Rec Department, and the option of having an indoor/outdoor facility through the addition of a possible patio area adjoining the building.

The building has a large room capable of holding approximately 100-125 people and is currently used for storage by the Greendale Department of Public Works.

Historical Society member Bill Attewell says, "There's no sense in preserving a building just for the sake of the building, just to have it sit empty. The goal is to develop a sustainable model that will benefit the entire community."

He went on to say that the hose tower is just one aspect of the larger Parking Street area in downtown Greendale that is prime for re-purposing.

In response to the group's presentation, School District Superintendent Bill Hughes advised that the project provides a good leadership opportunity for the school board within the community.

School Board President Tom Slota said he would like to know more specific plans about the proposed usage of the renovated building before committing any funds to the project.

The Society plans to kick-off a capital fund-raising campaign in the near future. The group would like to have the hose tower renovation completed in time for the village's 75th anniversary in 2013.