A free 1860s former Route 45 restaurant known as the Victorian Lady, and later Vic's Pub, is available for relocation to another site. Currently used as an office for staff of a car dealership, the removal would also include a newer addition adjacent to the Victorian Lady.
The dealership bought the building about three years ago, but now plans to replace the building with a parking lot as part of the upgrade and expansion of its existing showroom to a new 9,000 sq. ft. building. This will include a larger showroom, more personal closing offices, an accounting office, customer lounge, service write-up area, and a single-lane service drive-thru.
The old showroom was once the location of V&H Motor Company. Blaise Alexander Ford purchased the old showroom lot in 2009, one adjacent lot in 2013, and the Victorian Lady’s lot in 2015 with a combined purchase total of 9.5 acres for $2,745,000. The Victorian Lady’s first floor alone is roughly estimated to be around 3,000 sq. ft. The entire building totals 6,931 sq. ft. Upgrades or repairs are necessary to older sections, such as the bathrooms and lighting. Other likely upgrades would include the electrical and heating systems.
The Victorian Lady is not on the National Register. Nonetheless, the township required an investigation into the building’s background as part of the land development plan. There is limited documentation of historical significance obtainable from the Union County Historical Society, except for a paragraph about the building’s architectural style in a book. An archeological dig on the site also did not result in discovering anything of note. East Buffalo Township supervisors approved land development and demolition plans for the site in February 2018.
Unless the building is relocated, demolition is planned for next January or February 2019 during the last phase of the expansion project. Blaise Alexander Ford is also considering offers to disassemble and remove the structure in pieces. Any contracts will require an interested person or company to remove the entire building either whole or disassembled into pieces. The Victorian Lady is located on 2167 Old Turnpike Road at the SW corner of Old Turnpike Rd (Route 45) & Fairground Rd, just east of the Blaise Alexander Ford Dealership.
CONTACT INFO
Aubrey Alexander
Blaise Alexander Family Dealerships
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