Historic McDonel Condos Court New Housing Market
August 25, 1996, article one

PIX#1 - McDonel Court, once known as McDonel Flats and the Rowan Apartment, on Perry St.

is a turn of the century New York style brownstone. This unique building Has been recently converted to condominiums right in the heart of Fostoria.

Historic McDonel Condos Court New Housing Market

Does anyone remember the Rowan Apartments? Well, if you don’t remember the name, you surely know the building. It’s the very distinctive six unit, two story brownstone on Perry St. next to Image Photo. There’s not another building quite like it in Fostoria.

And if you’ve driven by the old building recently, you’ve noticed a lot of work being done on the unique old structure. With the help of general contractor Bob Gase, Don Murphy of Goddard Murphy and Co. has been restoring it to its turn of the century richness as a condo-minium development.

When the building was first erected around 1900, it was known as McDonel Flats, after the brothers John and J.D. McDonel who built it.

The McDonels were haberdashers and purchased a small clothing store from L.E. Sugerman. They opened the store as their own in March 1902. John was in the clothing business for more than a quarter century and the McDonel store prospered.

The store was expanded twice and quickly experienced a doubling of sales. They featured well known lines of clothing including Hart-Schaffner & Marx, Ederheimer and Wilson’s. In its day, McDonel’s was renowned for its modern appointments.

A history of local businesses from early in the century enthused, “Their room is well lighted by day and is fitted with an electric system that gives the color of day to the night. The firm is an enterprising one, loyal to Fostoria, fair to its patrons and deservedly popular.”

Just as the former resplendence is being restored, so, too, has the old name been dusted off. Don Murphy tells us that the new condos will be called McDonel Court.

And a lot of work has gone into the restoration. Each of the units contains a living room, dining room, two bedrooms, a gallery/hallway, bath and kitchen. There are rear entrances that open onto a back porch and courtyard. Each unit has 1,350 sq. Ft. The buyer supplies his or her own floor coverings and appliances.

The interiors have been almost completely transformed. New walls, ceilings, plumbing, wiring, windows as well as new heating and air conditioning and new water heaters are part of the top to bottom renewal.

The bathrooms have been enlarged. Two are 6x12 and four are 6x15.

The exterior has a new roof, new garage and new exterior appointments. The grounds are newly landscaped.

The new condominiums will sell for roughly $90,000 apiece.

“We retained what we could of the old charm of the building,.” Don said, “but adapted it to modern day living. For example, closets had to be fitted in. When the building was constructed, people didn’t have the amount of clothing they have today.”

McDonel Court also has the only bow windows in Fostoria adding an urban touch to the town’s architecture. It’s also interesting that these units are more spacious than they appear from the outside.

Don Murphy passed along a couple of other interesting items about the new McDonel Court. It seems that J.D. McDonel is the great-granduncle of Fostorians Don Guernsey and Carol Reffner.

S page from an old book describing the McDonel brothers clothing store and an old Fostoria postcard with a picture of McDonel Flats was found in the cornerstone of the Geary Family YMCA during its renovation a few years back.

The postcard incorrectly identifies the building as “McDonald” Flats.

So if you enjoy the benefits of ownership, but you’re getting a little fed up with the care and maintenance of the old homestead, maybe it’s time to consider a change.

If condominium living in an architecturally unique piece of Fostoria’s history appeals to you, contact Don Murphy.