Former factory building set to be demolished
“We appreciate the public’s patience, but it’s been enough time. It’s time to get it open. We just want to speed it up a little bit.” Newark Mayor Jeff Hall
NEWARK – The burned-out former White-westinghouse factory building on West Main Street should be demolished sometime this summer and the street re-opened.
Representatives from the Licking County Land Bank and city of Newark met with the Licking County Commissioners in a special meeting Tuesday to determine funding sources for the demolition, expected to cost $850,000 to $900,000.
An Easter Sunday morning fire at the 140,000-square foot factory building at 325 West Main St., in an area becoming part of multi-use development Newark Station, engulfed the structure previously slated for demolition, but did not reach the rest of the redevelopment area.
The vacant building, located close to the street, forced the closure of West Main adjacent to Raccoon Creek because of fear the heavily-damaged building could collapse.
The commissioners voted Tuesday to loan the Land Bank $500,000 for the demolition. The Land Bank applied to the state for grant money and awaits those funds, but the fire accelerated the city's need to get the building down and reopen West Main Street.
“The land bank pays the contractors and when we get the money from the state, we pay the commissioners back,” Newark Mayor Jeff Hall said.
Other downtown streets are also closed as part of the Fourth Street infrastructure project, so the West Main Street closure has complicated downtown detours.
“We appreciate the public's patience, but it's been enough time,” Hall said. “It's time to get it open. We just want to speed it up a little bit.”
The city planned to use $500,000 in grant money, plus up to $400,000 from its American Rescue Plan Act funds or city general fund, to pay for demolition costs. But, the state has not yet paid out the grant funds. The city expects to repay the commissioners before the end of the year.
People broke into the building for shelter before the fire and have again entered the building since the fire.
“You put a fence up and they climb over,” Hall said. “You put boards up and they tear the boards down.”
Newark Station is mixed-use development on the former White-westinghouse industrial site property. It will include a coffee shop, lounge, loft apartments, rooftop bar, modern-day trading post featuring artisans and entrepreneurs, office space, Italian restaurant and possibly a city park along Raccoon Creek.
The four-year, $11 million project opened last year with four lighted sand volleyball courts, an outdoor taco bar and live music as the first phase of the four-phase development. kmallett@newarkadvocate.com 740-328-8545
Twitter: @kmallett1958