The interim use, Guenther said, would be an enclosed space with a mix of landscaping and hard surfaces suitable for art displays, performances and other programming. “It will be a substantial investment,” he said. “This isn’t going to become a challenge for the city and the police.”

‘Mifflin Arcade’

If the buildings are torn down, Stege said, the trust hopes to explore whether the creme-colored terra cotta on the buildings’ facades can be salvaged for reuse. Hovde is interested in salvaging and reusing the facades, Guenther said.

The neo-classical revival terra cotta buildings, designed by architect Philip Homer, were known as the “Mifflin Arcade” and home to a variety of commercial uses in their early years. They were intended to create “a high class shopping district for women and to make the Mifflin Arcade one of the best known business blocks in the city,” according to a newspaper account of the time.

The buildings are not landmarks or in a local historic district. But they were considered as contributing to a potential State Street National Register Historic District that ultimately wasn’t approved due to objections of owners.