New office building planned for Stimson Avenue

Pete Good, who will own the new building, said it will be 3,000 square feet, divided into two 1,500-square-foot spaces. A state building permit for the building was approved Monday, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce website, although Good said he had not yet received the approved plans.

He said he expects construction to begin one or two weeks after permits are received. The project does not require any code variances, Good said.

“It will be all brick,” Good said of the building, adding that he thinks the site is a good location for the project because Stimson Avenue is becoming one of the main streets in Athens.

The site, at 6 and 8 Stimson Ave., is located between Athens Bicycle and Good Dry Cleaners (part of a commercial building owned by Good). Good Inc. acquired 6 Stimson Ave. in 1994 and 8 Stimson this past January, according to the Athens County Auditor’s Office

Good said the small brick house (at 6 Stimson) was one of his rentals and was occupied until May. The tenant was moved to one of Good’s other rental properties. He said he’d been trying to buy the other brick house for many years, and it finally became available.

According to the book “Getting to Know Athens County” by Elizabeth Grover Beatty and Marjorie S. Stone, the small brick houses were among several that lined what is now Stimson Avenue and served as homes for workers at Athens Brick Co., which was formed in 1891 and closed about 1917. Most of the bricks produced by the company were used for paving, but also for other uses. Most were inscribed “Athens Block,” although some said “Athens Brick Company” or “Athens, Ohio,” according to the book.