LIGONIER — The needed renovations to the former Ahavath Sholom synagogue could end up costing quadruple the price it’s currently listed for, and that’s a problem, said Ligonier Public Library director Jerry Nesbitt.
On the market since 2014, the building at 503 Main St. hasn’t seen much interest since the library’s board of directors announced it could no longer afford to operate both the library and the synagogue-turned-museum, and would need to sell the latter.
The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is labeled as an Indiana Landmark — being one of only two remaining 19th century Jewish temples in the state.
That makes it hard to sell in the condition it’s in, Nesbitt said, because exterior renovations have to be historically accurate.
“It’s very precise and detailed that the outside at least has to be maintained as it is now,” Nesbitt said. “There’s all sorts of mechanisms that go into effect if it were to be sold to someone and they don’t live up to all these specifications.”
The temple, which has housed the Ligonier Historical Society Museum since 1989 when the library purchased the property, is in need of a new roof, as well as renovations to its basement and attention to its stained-glass windows.
The last estimate for the work had a price tag of about $400,000, with the roof being the most involved project because of the need to keep it accurate to the look of the late 1800s.
The building can be purchased as is for $83,000.
“We’ve been trying to maintain as best we can with what we have,” Nesbitt said. “There’s been some interest both from the Jewish Federation of Indianapolis and another Jewish organization from Fort Wayne. Neither one of them is necessarily interested in the building; they just like the Jewish portion of the collection for their archives.”
And the collection isn’t part of the deal. The library owns the items inside the museum, which includes a selection of objects from the city’s history and a secondary collection of Jewish artifacts. They have been on permanent loan to the museum.
That would change if a buyer turned the building into something else, such as an apartment complex or private residence, Nesbitt said. If that happened, the collection would move to the library.
The library board signed a one-year contract in October to work with Ligonier-based John’s Realty to help kick-start the selling process, but to no avail, even with multiple interested parties.
“We’ve had some showings,” said Realtor John Mangona. “The biggest concern for most of the buyers is once they find out it’s in the historical register, where they’re limited with what they can do, they back off from there.”
Indiana Landmarks Northern Regional Office director Todd Zeiger hopes more interested parties will think outside the box instead of presuming the building needs to remain a place of worship.
The use of the building is up to the potential purchaser, as long as it’s appropriate, Zeiger said.
“People get caught up in the thought that the use is limited because of its historic nature,” he said. “There’s more flexibility than people assume.”
Zeiger pointed out that even if the exterior has to remain historically accurate, the inside can be used for any number of things, such as office space, a home or a museum.
The library will continue with Mangona’s contract until October, and if the building isn’t sold, it will work with Indiana Landmarks to market the building to a specific audience interested in historic properties.
“It’s no different than when someone goes to sell a house,” said Zeiger of the process. “From a design and layout standpoint, it just changes the size of the market that may buy it.”
Zeiger said Indiana Landmarks will use multiple avenues to get the word out nationally, including displaying the property on its website.
If a buyer isn’t found, Nesbitt doesn’t know what the next option is, and all avenues would need to be considered by the library board. He had hoped some support would come from the community, but that’s proved difficult as people have been unable to offer their time or financial backing.
“We really haven’t had anyone from the community come out to support it, other than on Facebook,” Nesbitt said. “Everyone wants it, but no one can really help.”
Zeiger hopes his organization can help to sell the property so that a prominent part of the town’s legacy isn’t lost.
“The community of Ligonier has a rich history with the folks that founded the community with the Jewish faith. The synagogue there is a pretty important connection to that history,” he said. “We hope to find the next right owner of that property.”