Geneva's Plastic-Wrapped Blacksmith Shop Now Has a Building Plan Around It

At the southwest corner of Routes 38 and 25, a small limestone building sits inside a skin of plastic. It dates to about 1843. It is the remnant of the Alexander Brothers Blacksmith Shop, and it is the only structure left from the Mill Race Inn, which served diners on that corner from 1933 to 2011. Most of the Inn's other buildings were demolished after it closed. The stone section, which some Geneva residents remember as the "Stone Room," is what's left.

For two years the argument over this corner has been about what covers those walls: a tarp, plastic, or boards. That argument is still going, and a daily fine is still adding up. The more consequential question now is what gets built around the stone. Since Sept. 16, that question has a formal application, and the City of Geneva will decide it in a series of public meetings.

How a Roof Tarp Turned Into a Half-Million-Dollar Fine

The enforcement case started small. In 2024, Geneva cited the owner, Shodeen Group, under its building maintenance code for not keeping a new tarp on the roof to make the building "weather-tight." It has grown from there.

The January vote matters more than the fine for the building's long-term future. Six aldermen sided with Shodeen's appeal, but overturning the commission took seven votes, so demolition was not approved. The building still has local historic landmark status, according to the Kane County Chronicle. Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley notes that the city granted that status after the building was first threatened with demolition in December 2017.

The fine grows by $750 a day. In May, the Kane County Chronicle put it at $434,250 after 579 days. By Oct. 16, 2026, it had reached $546,750 after 729 days.

Why the Plastic Itself Became the Dispute

The wrap went up in spring 2026. The city gave Shodeen 10 days to remove it, then cited the company on May 15. As the Kane County Chronicle reported in May, the city's stated concern was that the plastic kept inspectors from seeing the building's structural components.

The Oct. 15 hearing was held at Batavia City Hall, because Geneva and Batavia share an adjudicator. The Kane County Chronicle's account shows how far apart the two sides are on a basic question: does the plastic protect the building or harm it?

Shodeen attorney Matthew Herman argued that the original order was to make the building weather-tight and that the wrap did that. He told the adjudicator Shodeen had spent more than $8,000 on it and said:

"These are companies that do this as a standard part of construction to make something weather-tight."

City attorney Ronald Sandack argued that sealing the walls completely keeps air from reaching the structure, which would speed up its deterioration. "It makes the building worse," he said, according to the Chronicle. He said the right fix is to remove the plastic, board the windows and put a tarp back on the roof.

Puscas said he would issue his ruling by mail. When the Chronicle reported the hearing on Oct. 17, no ruling had been made public. The ruling on the wrap and the review of the development plan are separate processes, and the corner's future runs through the second one.

The Plan That Builds Around the Stone

The September filing is the first application in years to give the blacksmith shop a defined place in a new project. David Patzelt, president of Shodeen Group, filed a petition on Sept. 16 for a planned unit development called Mill Race Residence: 84 homes in three five-story buildings. The site covers 1.82 acres. That includes the original 1.43-acre Mill Race parcel plus 0.39 acres at 12 E. State St., where a cycle shop used to be.

The plan does not leave the stone building where it stands. Patzelt described taking the remnant walls down and reusing the limestone at the northwest corner of a new building:

"We would use the existing stone as the skin and replicate the skin of the historic structure on the new building."

Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley has argued for keeping the building as one of Geneva's oldest surviving commercial structures. The group is holding off on a position for now. "We will not comment on whether that is a positive development until after we see the proposal documents after they are reviewed by the city," Al Watts told the Kane County Chronicle.

The most useful comparison is the last plan for this corner, which the City Council rejected in 2020:

In 2020, council members said that design was too large. The new plan has 40 fewer homes than the 124 proposed in 2020. Whether the five-story massing addresses the council's earlier objection is one of the questions the review will take up. The ownership question is also still open. Patzelt said Shodeen hasn't decided whether the units will be sold as condos or rented as apartments.

Where the Decision Happens Next

The city's Sept. 18 notice lays out the order of review:

1. City staff review. Staff are reviewing the application now. No meeting dates have been announced yet.
2. Historic Preservation Commission. A public meeting comes next. This is the same body whose demolition denial the council upheld in January.
3. Planning & Zoning Commission. This step includes a public hearing.
4. City Council. The council takes final action, with recommendations from both commissions in front of it.

The notice says the applicant is asking for preliminary PUD approval, so the 84-unit plan is an early version that could still change. The city has posted the project on its Mill Race Residences PUD page and its Development Projects map. Anyone can sign up for email updates through the city's Notify Me feature by choosing Development Projects.

Downtown has a second housing proposal in the same pipeline. On Oct. 6, Joe Stanton filed a petition for Winfield Properties LLC proposing six three-story homes called the Brownstones of Fifth Street at 11 N. Fifth St. Units are projected at $850,000 to $900,000. That project also has preservation review, a Planning & Zoning review and a final council vote still ahead. The Kane County Chronicle reported no construction timeline. The two downtown housing petitions were filed three weeks apart, and both now go through the same commissions.

For now, the stone walls at State and Route 25 are still wrapped in plastic. The fine was $546,750 as of Oct. 16 and grows by $750 a day, a ruling on the wrap is pending, and the first hearing on the building plan has not been scheduled yet.

If you're following the Mill Race corner and wondering how projects like Mill Race Residence or the Fifth Street brownstones could change what's for sale in downtown Geneva, I'm happy to talk it through. My background on the builder side means I read plans like these the way a buyer will eventually experience them, from unit count to condo-or-rental status. Jay Stallone is here when you're ready. Let's Connect.