City Editor

Neighbors of 240 W. Gilman St. and the Save the Women’s Building organization will meet tonight with the building’s owner to oppose its demolition and discuss possible revised plans.

The building was built for the Women’s Club of Madison at the turn of the century to help with reforms in the city, such as cleaning up trash and starting kindergarten programs.

Save the Women’s Building has collected almost 1,000 signatures from neighbors, business owners and students opposed to the demolition of the building, member Marsha Rummel said.

While the building’s owner, Joe McCormick, had intended to demolish the building, he changed plans after meeting with the Urban Design Committee. McCormick said he has constructed a new plan that will save part of the original establishment.

“The new plan preserves a significant portion of the building,” McCormick said.

He said the revised plan incorporates comments made by neighbors and the Urban Design committee and is a larger project than the previous proposal.

Parking behind the lot is also owned by McCormick and will factor into the new plan. He said the project includes retail on the first floor and office space on the second and third floors. Tenants will occupy the rest of the space.

Save the Women’s Building hopes to convince McCormick not to go through with destroying the building by informing him of its historical context.

“If we don’t preserve this, we wouldn’t do justice to our history,” Rummel said.

After researching the building’s history, Save the Women’s Building nominated the building for consideration as a historic site with the Wisconsin Trust for Historic Preservation.

Ledell Zeller of Save the Women’s Building said when the Men’s Club building was threatened with demolition, it was eventually preserved by the WTHP.

“We would hate to think the city considers the Men’s Club worth saving and not the Women’s Club,” Zeller said.

Changes in demolition, however, have come too late for some in the building, such as Avol’s owner Ron Czerwien. He learned of plans to demolish the building after a reporter from the Wisconsin State Journal called to interview him. His business will take over the space Canterbury Books occupies on Gorham Street.

McCormick hopes neighbors will agree with his new plan since he has incorporated concerns from neighbors.

Rummel also hopes for a compromise.

“We are trying to find a win-win situation,” Rummel said.

McCormick said if all goes well, construction would begin late this summer.