The coat of white paint on the historic Richards building in Downtown Fort Myers won’t be there for long.
"The matter that came before the Historic Preservation Commission today was whether or not it was appropriate to paint the facade of the Richards building. The commission's job today was to look at the facts presented before them and then to apply the city, code the city historic preservation code and decide whether or not that that was appropriate for that to happen," said Gina Sabiston, chairwoman of city of Fort Myers Historic Preservation Commission.
Thursday's vote of the Fort Myers Historic Preservation Commission was unanimous that Alessio Development has to remove the paint in the gentlest manner possible and restore the historic building back to its original brick color.
Back in March, the Fort Myers Historic Preservation Commission got wind of the fact that Alessio Development was painting the Richards building without permission. The city issued a stop work order, but the company kept on painting.
Alessio said the only way to make the paint consistent was to continue the work.
Michael Bushatz has worked in masonry for decades and spoke during the public comment section of today's meeting.
“I think it was a good choice. As a lifelong tradesman, I see the problem with what happens to the building. I heard a lot of things here today that didn't really add up from the other side of the argument, and I think there should definitely be some repercussions for that,” Bushatz said.
Alessio Development said they plan on appealing the decision made by the commission.