At a meeting Monday, Pella Historical Society & Museums (PHSM) board members voted to remove the current Casey’s building on the northwest side of the Pella square.

In September, Casey’s General Stores offered a donated transfer of ownership of the property to PHSM once the new Casey’s on south Main Street opens next spring; the PHSM Board accepted that offer. Since then, a sub-committee made up of five board members as well as the Director and Associate Director of PHSM had met weekly to review the costs associated with keeping the building versus removing the building.

“It became clear pretty quickly that keeping a building, even if it’s in good shape, is expensive,” says PHSM President Lori Ellingson. “The costs to remodel it, heat it, and staff it were just too prohibitive to make this a good option.” In addition, the PHSM storage garage presently located behind the Casey’s building would also be removed.

The PHSM Board accepted the committee’s recommendation. A new committee will be appointed to begin exploring ideas for the use of the property, which sits next to the Scholte House, the home of Pella’s founder, H.P. Scholte, and his wife, Maria.

Board member Alie Muller-Heit was part of the sub-committee making the recommendation. She developed a survey that went out to members as well as non-members, seeking recommendations on use of the property. The majority of both members and non-members wanted to see the building razed.

“Throughout this entire process, we referred constantly to PHSM’s mission statement, which is to preserve and promote the Dutch heritage of Pella,” Muller-Heit says. “We thought that could best be done by removing the building.”

Fundraising for the venture will begin next spring, contingent on the timing of contracts and negotiations with Casey’s.