Unusual High Springs downtown landmark to get renovations
By Emily Blake
For The Herald

The Blanton Building, an unusual-looking building that seems like it was the corner of a previous structure, was actually built that way in the early 1950s as a Gulf Gas Station. The building most recently was occupied by Realtor Cheryl Blanton (shown above) and came to be known as the Blanton Building. Note that what is now the Chevron gas station did not exist, nor did the building that now houses City Boys Tire & Brake (seen to the right in the photo).

HIGH SPRINGS -- What many residents have called a historic city landmark is getting a makeover.

The historic, pagoda-like building that sits on the corner of U.S. 441 and North Main Street will be undergoing long-awaited renovations.

Owner Hugh Buie said the building has already received a new paint job and that there soon will be more parking spaces added to the property.

The building, which was the home of Cheryl Blanton Real Estate until a few weeks ago, has sat on the corner since 1955.

Buie, a Lake City resident, bought the property in March of 2002.

He said the unique style of the building is what won him over.

“There’s very few people who own property like that,” he said. “It’s an entrance way into High Springs.”

Later that year, the Florida Department of Transportation embarked on a $5 million project to resurface U.S. 441 from I-75 to the Santa Fe River.

Part of the project included the construction of a turning lane directly through the property.

But High Springs residents would not allow it. They fought the FDOT, standing up for what they considered to be a city landmark.

In response, the FDOT decided to construct the turning lane behind the property, leaving only a small triangle of land available and only two parking spaces.

“I have no access to my property for customers to come in," Cheryl Blanton said in a 2002 interview with The Herald. "Even my parents were going to come see me, and they couldn't. They had to turn around and go home."

Now, the “old crazy building,” as Buie called it, is receiving a much-needed expansion, one that he said will allow for more success for the next business.

Buie is in the process of laying concrete on the property, which will allow for a lot more parking spaces and better opportunities for future tenants.

He said he does not know exactly how much the project will cost or when it will be done, but he hopes that it will remain the “gateway to High Springs.”

“I hope that it will be something great for the city of High Springs,” he said.