Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
A Bedford building that twice was listed on Indiana Landmarks Most Endangered properties can still be rehabilitated despite being damaged by fire earlier this month.
The Bedford Elks building caught fire Sept. 20. The fire is believed to have started in the basement of the structure at the corner of 15th and K streets.
Although the fire was a setback for the planned development of the building, a director with Indiana Landmarks, a statewide preservation organization, said the structure can still be preserved for future use.
News of the fire led to concerns as to the building’s future. Greg Sekula, Indiana Landmarks’ Southern Regional director, traveled to Bedford after the fire to see for himself the damage to the structure and he has talked to Adrian Fine, one of the owners.
“From talking to Adrian Fine and seeing it, it looks like the bulk of the fire was in the basement level. Luckily, the main historic features were not in the basement area,” Sekula said.
The upper floors of the Italian Renaissance Revival-style building did sustain smoke and water damage.
The Elks building, along with another downtown building, the Krenke-Goff building, were acquired by a development group made up of the 1930s Group and Allied Argenta in 2023. The group announced last summer that it planned to preserve and develop the properties for reuse.
Fine, who is president and CEO of the Los Angeles Conservancy, has more than a preservation interest in saving the Elks building. He lived in Bedford as a youth and knows what the building represents to the community.
“If anyone is committed to the saving of this building, it’s Adrian,” Sekula said.
Redevelopment of old buildings comes with many challenges, but Sekula said the owners continue to work on their plans and the fire has not changed that.
“I am confident that the developers of the property are committed to its rehabilitation,” said Sekula. “While this is indeed a setback, local firefighters appear to have thankfully saved the building from total loss. There is still much historic fabric with which to work. I don’t believe this is the building’s final chapter. This event will make the rehabilitation even more a sweet victory for preservation in the end.”
Built in 1917, the Elks Lodge No. 826 for decades was a thriving community organization serving as a social and philanthropic club. At one time the club had 2,000 members and the Elks sponsored several community projects and special events.
In 2015, amid declining membership, the local chapter ended its charter and donated the building to the Bedford Urban Enterprise Association. BUEA was unable to find a buyer until 2023.
In August of 2023, The 1930s Group and Allied Argenta announced plans to redevelop the 1917 Elks Lodge and the 1892 Krenke-Goff building, both located in downtown Bedford’s Courthouse Square Historic District, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
According to a press release, the developers plan called for working with local community organizations, the City of Bedford and Indiana Landmarks to pursue a community-based endeavor that results in the preservation and reuse of these buildings in a way that serves Bedford and helps further revitalization efforts of the downtown.
“It truly is one of the landmark buildings of Bedford,” Sekula said.