BUFFALO, N.Y. — There's strong debate over whether a grain elevator in Buffalo that's more than a century old: should be brought to the ground?
The company that owns the grain elevator says high wind over the weekend caused damage that cannot be repaired and should be taken down.
The issue has local preservationists fired up and has caught the attention of a federal lawmaker from Western New York.
The Great Northern Grain Elevator has stood for more than 120 years. But now, it has a gaping hole.
The owner of the building -- Archer Daniels Midland, a global food processing company -- says strong wind over the weekend caused a third of a wall to collapse sending bricks flying.
Now there's debate over whether the building, a historical place, should be demolished.
"It speaks so much to the history of the City of Buffalo. The shipping, the men and women who worked in there in the Old First Ward, and simply, it's a waterfront landmark. It's the first building, really, that mariners saw in ships coming in off the Great Lakes," said Tim Tielman, the director of the Campaign for Greater Buffalo History and Architecture, who believes repairs can be made.
But ADM says engineers have looked at the grain elevator, and they say the area is now a danger and that it is not safe nor feasible to repair the damage. ADM has filed an application with the city's Department of Permit and Inspection for an emergency demolition.
U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins wants repairs to be made, too, and says he can help in the form of tax credits.
"I will work with them toward the goal of ensuring federal and state historical tax credits to make the redevelopment of that viable," Higgins said.
As the debate continues, this is an issue that could end up in court.
2 On Your Side asked Tielman, under the circumstances that the application is approved, how would you respond to that? Would you try to hold it up? Would you file a lawsuit?
"Absolutely, we'd go to court. It would be in our opinion, looking at the evidence that is public and is before the commissioner, there's nothing there that would require an emergency demolition," Tielman said.
Because this is an application for an emergency demolition, a 30-day waiting period for a demolition permit is thrown out.
The owner of the grain elevator really only has to get some environmental and legal approvals for the demolition process to begin, unless there's legal action.