Former post office up for sale

CHILLICOTHE – The Madison on Paint, which stands among Chillicothe's most recognizable historic buildings, is up for sale.

Christine Meade, who owns the building with her husband, Mike; son, Shawn Hanks; and daughter-in-law, Tiffany Hanks, said they're selling the 109-year-old post office because their banquet and wedding business has become too time-consuming.

By selling the building, they said they hope to reduce their workload so they can focus on their commercial cleaning business, Pinnacle Building Services, which has clients throughout central Ohio and in Ross County.

Built in the Neoclassical style, the two-story, 12,632-square-foot building is listed at $525,000. The listing agent, Christine Everson, of Coldwell Banker Realty Champions Inc., said the building at the corner of Paint and Fifth streets has generated interest from several potential buyers. One indicated wanting to keep it as a banquet facility, while another expressed interest in converting the entire building into office space.

"It has so many possibilities," Everson said.

The building was originally constructed as a post office with second-floor offices for other federal entities, including the IRS. It features a hidden corridor that snakes through the building and was used by postal service managers and inspectors to watch over employees who were handling cash, Mike Meade said. The building still has the slits they used to peer out into the work area.

The original features also include the stone exterior, marble floors and stairs in the foyer, original hardwood floors and woodwork on the second floor and the former cashier windows. After the U.S. Postal Service moved out in 1959, the building was reborn numerous times, including as a Christian school, a furniture store and an antique store.

Meade and her family bought the building in July 2008 for $300,000. They've since invested another $200,000 in the building, including an extensive restoration of plaster that had deteriorated above several feet of drop ceilings. Mike Meade said his son, who's a master plasterer in Cleveland, spent three months restoring the ceiling.

"It was a family thing. We worked our butts off," Mike said.

They hosted their first event in October 2008 with "paint still drying on the walls," Christine said.

But over time, it's become too much to handle. Christine said she's tired of working 12-hour days. Shawn and Tiffany have four kids and a busy family schedule that pulls them in different directions. They said their banquet business was profitable and could probably boast an even busier schedule despite the fact they've only ever advertised by word-of-mouth.

"We love this city, and we like to share what we have," Mike said. "This building needs to be seen and experienced."

More online

For more photos of The Madison on Paint, go to ChillicotheGazette.com.