Otterbein's board of trustees voted last month to "deconstruct" the building and donate salvaged materials to Shaker dwellings. According to Gilmore, only 20 percent of the building is original. Other portions were lost during renovations in the 1950s and 1970s. "There's nothing in that building in terms of walls and stairwells that resembles how the Shakers lived. It's been totally reconfigured," Gilmore says. But some ask why the building can't be saved and revitalized as an arts center or employee dormitory. "They're doing this [demolition] because it's not going to be cost-efficient to redo for the specific use they're looking for," says Thomas Palmer, executive director of Preservation Ohio. "There's so little left in Ohio from that period ... there are a number of other uses for this building."