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From the Sandusky Register:
MANSION GETS NEW LIFE AS DANCE STUDIO
An institution that once had Sandusky youth singing the blues will now have
young and old kicking up their heels.
The Sandusky mansion that used to house Erie County's juvenile delinquents
is set for a grand opening April 30 as a dance studio.
"I am glad to see the old detention home be put to some use," Erie County
Administrator Michael Bixler said. "I was afraid for the neighborhood
(that) we would have some owners who wouldn't have a use for it and just
tear it down."
Timothy Nyman and Annessia bought the old
Erie County Detention Home at 1319 Tiffin Ave. in Sandusky for $100,000 on
October 19, 2003, with the intention of living in the older mansion section,
which had been converted for the detention facility, and renovating the
newer additions for their dance lesson business.
"I want to make this as least institutional looking as possible," Timothy
said.
If the (Sandusky) Yacht Club can come here and enjoy themselves, I figure
we are all good," Annessia said of some of her clients, who are Yacht Club
members.
While Annessia worked at the Sandusky Mall, Timothy taught dance lessons
part-time and converted several cells into a large dance floor complete with
mirrors, lighting, a sound system and a disco ball. Often working with a
sledgehammer on the concrete walls and beds, Timothy did all the work himself
save for hanging the mirrors, wiring the electrical system and installing
the ceiling.
On April 30, the couple will have an open house for the Black Tie Dance
Studio. The ribbon cutting will be at 3 p.m. followed by an open house
until 7 p.m. where people can take a tour of the business. Swing dance
lessons will be taught for 15 minutes every hour starting at 3:30 p.m.
The couple are the second private individuals to convert county facilities
bought at auction into businesses. Jim and George Sortino bought the old
orphanage at 1210 Sycamore Line in Sandusky and turned it into the Sortino
Building and The 800 Club.
"I guess I've done a lot of firsts in my life," George Sortino said. "We
were just in love with the ambiance of the building. We renovated it to
appease our business appetite."
Even though the Nymans won the auction for the
detention home on Oct. 19, 2003, they had to wait until the following May to
move in. They had to jump through city and county hoops to get the building
properly zoned, and a special custom insurance policy had to be written
because of the unique nature of the facility.
Despite the red tape, the couple are very happy in their new home and said
the county and city officials were helpful throughout the process.
"They wanted to see something positive come out of it," Annessia said.
"They were really supportive of what we were doing."
The main ballroom Timothy constructed will be used to teach private lessons,
group lessons and throw practice parties every week. The public can come,
but they must pay an admission fee.
Originally from Denver, the Nymans had never heard of Sandusky
until one night when they were in hotel room at Disney World and decided
they wanted to get away from the big city.
They started looking up places along lakes and came across Sandusky's Web
site.
Timothy Nyman and Annessia have opened the Black Tie Dance Studio
at the former location of the Erie County Detention Home on Tiffin Avenue in
Sandusky. They bought the home on October 2003 and are also remodeling the
residence portion of the home.
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