Months-long downtown rehab job nearly complete

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A five-month renovation project in downtown Delaware is finally concluding, and 35 N. Sandusky St. will go from housing a jeweler to housing a lawyer’s office in the coming weeks.

More than five months of renovations will make the historic building sparkle, according to attorney Todd Workman.

Renovation of the building that housed the old Bargar Jewelry is close to completion. Workman estimates that his law firm could move in by mid-February.

So that “Going out of business sale” sign will soon be taken down – though Workman admits that he doesn’t know the exact date.

“People are probably waiting to see that thing come down,” Workman said. “I made a few calls to a couple of awning companies. What I’d like to do is an awning similar to (the Hair Studio) next door, but I’m not sure what the cost is. They’ve got a really nice awning.”

The Workman Law Firm will be located on the first floor.

“As far as finishing the first floor, I’m thinking we’re probably about three weeks out,” Workman said.

He bought the building at the end of June and started construction in July. Other than the addition of new windows, nothing will change on the outside of the building, other than the awning (and a new sign).

“I’m not going to redo the façade or anything,” Workman said. “I think it looks good the way it is.”

Workman has spent about $145,000 on renovations with Jeff Calame working as the general contractor. When completed, it will house his office on the ground floor, offices on the second floor and an apartment on the top floor.

“We’re renovating the whole building,” he said. “We’ve had to redo everything. When I bought the building, I don’t think anybody had done anything to it in 60-plus years.”

The second and third floor had gone unused for close to 60 years, Workman found through conversations with city of Delaware officials.

There’s an old piece of dentistry equipment that Workman estimated was from the 1960s – remnants of a dentist office on the second floor that he’d like to keep, but doesn’t know how it could be used.

He said they had gutted the second and third floors, putting in all new plumbing, electrical, dry wall and fixtures.

Workman is from Galion, graduated from Hilliard High School (now Hilliard Davidson), has a bachelor’s degree in criminology from Ohio State University and a law degree from the University of Dayton.

He has lived in Delaware for the past 11 years and practiced law in the area for the past 3½ years.

The Workman Law Firm takes over the former location of Bargar Jewelry, which went out of business in June 2014. Bargar had been serving central Ohio since 1957, according to its website.

For more information about the Workman Law Firm, visit www.delawareohiolawyer.com.

Pictured last week on the first floor are (left to right) Workman, Thomas Urhammer and Jeff Calame.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2016/01/web1_DSC_2081.jpgPictured last week on the first floor are (left to right) Workman, Thomas Urhammer and Jeff Calame. Michael Rich | For The Gazette

35 N. Sandusky St. will become a lawyer’s office in a few weeks, and the “Going out of business sale” sign will be coming down.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2016/01/web1_DSC_2089.jpg35 N. Sandusky St. will become a lawyer’s office in a few weeks, and the “Going out of business sale” sign will be coming down. Michael Rich | For The Gazette
Attorney to move into renovated offices

By Michael Rich

For The Gazette

Follow Michael Rich on Twitter @mrichdelgazette. Email: [email protected].

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