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The project site at 214-222 W. State Street in Geneva.
A prominent vacant storefront in downtown Geneva is set to undergo a major transformation.
At its most recent meeting, the Geneva Historic Preservation Commission approved exterior changes for a mixed-use redevelopment of 214-222 W. State Street that clear the way for a planned project that includes a restaurant, basement speakeasy, boutique retail, and several apartments.
Here's what to know:
Project details: The project applicant said the west end of the building would house a restaurant at 220 W. State Street, with a speakeasy in the basement below it. The new owner plans to lower the basement floor to gain ceiling height, drawing inspiration from establishments in Chicago's West Loop. A boutique retail shop would be added on the ground floor, and the second floor above existing tenants Fair Game, Town & Country Flowers, and City Barber Shop would become residential apartments.
What the commission approved: Storefront modifications to create separate entries for the restaurant and speakeasy, and replacement of 14 second-story windows with aluminum-clad wood units. The commission also expressed support for keeping the 1960s canopy in place, repainting it black, and covering the concrete strip above it with an aluminum panel.
The backstory: The new owner said the building was purchased last fall from a family that owned it for 80 years. He told the commission the project is a long-term family investment and that the previous owners chose him specifically based on the plans he laid out in an essay.
When a commissioner asked when construction would start, the owner said: “Soon. Soon.”
The property’s history
According to city documents, the building at 214-222 W. State Street dates to 1915, when H.B. Fargo cleared the existing structures, including a butcher shop and a jeweler's space dating to the 1850s, to build the current two-story brick commercial block.
It's a contributing property in the Geneva Historic District and a sister building to the Fargo Theatre Block at 324 W. State Street, with Fargo using the same storefront design for both. The City Barber Shop has operated in the building, under various owners, continuously since the early 1900s.
Learn more about the proposed project in this agenda packet and watch the commission meeting recording.
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