One of Madison's most historic buildings was officially brought back to life Tuesday at a twilight ribbon cutting ceremony at Trainor's Store, 551 W. Main St. Featured in the new building is office space for the Onion.
Daniel Trainor, originally from Ireland and one of the Bassett neighborhood's earliest grocers, opened his store in 1896 and kept it running for nearly 30 years. Although he has been dead for decades, several of his relatives were present at the ceremony.
'It's wonderful, instead of tearing it down, it's nice to have it restored,' said Trainor's granddaughter, Lucille. 'It was nice to have it dedicated to the Trainor family, since my grandfather owned the grocery store for 26 years.'
John Koffel, owner of Delta Properties, said the building was first erected in 1890. According to Koffel, renovating the building for the new Onion offices meant entirely 'gutting' the structure.
In addition to ambitiously redeveloping the old grocery, Delta Properties also took the steps necessary to make it a 'green building.'
Melissa Scanlan, executive director and founder of non-profit environmental law center Midwest Environmental Advocates, which will share the building with the Onion, said MEA chose the building for its environmental friendliness.
'We needed more office space and we were trying to find a developer who was willing to do green design in the office,' Scanlan said, referring to efforts to lower the use of toxic chemicals and electricity in the building. 'This developer came in with one of the best offers in that regard.'
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said he was happy about the 'green building' designation for the offices. He added he was pleased with the 'non-controversial' development, which comes in the midst of intense disagreement over the future of a century-old house on nearby Mifflin Street.
Verveer said the new offices are an addition to the rapidly improving Bassett neighborhood.
'When I was first elected 10 years ago, this neighborhood was known for open-air drug dealing and prostitution,' Verveer said. 'There were huge police calls for service to this neighborhood. Ten years later, look at the difference.'
He added, 'The Bassett Neighborhood has enjoyed a tremendous renaissance.'
