Empty buildings need work

Fire department inspecting commercial buildings

Empty buildings on Broadway need maintenance and it’s time for city inspectors to take the owners to task, say supporters who want more development downtown.

In October, an ad hoc committee of downtown observers made a walking tour to look at conditions of some of the empty buildings.

The group included Jim Long, president of the Lorain Growth Corp., and Loraine Ritchey of the Charleston Village Society Inc., a group that advocates for preservation in Lorain’s oldest neighborhood. As an online blogger, Ritchey is a frequent commenter on Lorain issues.

With them were Frank Sipkovsky, a member of the Lorain Design Review Board. Sipkovsky and his wife, Carolyn, also are local historians and trustees of the Lorain Lighthouse Foundation Inc.

Walking around

The picture is not entirely bleak. Long and Lorain Fire Department Assistant Chief Christopher Radman agreed Broadway buildings are looking better inside and out due to businesses and owners who care about them.

But the empty buildings may be at a tipping point.

Long credited Mayor Chase Ritenauer and predecessor mayors Tony Krasienko and Joe Koziura for their efforts on building code enforcement. Years ago, Long called for the Krasienko administration to step up code enforcement downtown.

“In that seven-year period, some of these building have gone from unoccupied to almost, what I call abandoned,” Long said. “No upkeep, no maintenance on these buildings.”

The structures may not look bad when you’re driving by, but the problems become more noticeable when observers get out and walk around them, he said.

He suggested some of the buildings were purchased years ago in hopes of capitalizing on a rebirth if Lorain were to get legalized gambling.

Ritchey said belief in the future may be why some owners hold onto them.

“Some of them are being mothballed because they think there’s going to be this great event downtown,” she said.

The committee would not break into the buildings, so they looked at what was visible from the street.

It appeared the buildings at 550, 668, 822, 858 and 929 Broadway were “the most urgent areas to be inspected due to obvious structure issues, possible environmental issues and possible fire safety issues,” Long said.

“We’re making it public with these buildings that we desire that they be maintained,” Long said. “If they (owners) don’t want to develop them, fix them well enough that they can be marketed and sold and filled with businesses that will help our overall picture that we have going on down here.”

At times Ritchey has been a harsh critic of the city building code inspection and enforcement process that seems to be “all talk and no action.”

“You can’t just let these buildings deteriorate to such a state where they look intimidating,” she said. “They look horrible.”

Reacting to the findings

Long and Radman agreed on two key issues — safety is a top priority and no one wants another fire like the Aug. 6 blaze that gutted at 700 Broadway. That structure, also known as the Thistle Block or the Thistle Building, was damaged beyond repair and has been knocked down.

No one was hurt in that fire in a building that was occupied at the time.

Lorain firefighters don’t want to see a rundown city, said Radman and fire Lt. Steve Bajcer, who works in fire prevention.

But they noted there can be serious differences between fire codes and building rules.

For 550 Broadway, it is a city-owned building and city officials are aware of the roof problems, leakage and mold. The city is looking for money to take care of the situation, Radman said.

In 668 Broadway, the fire department granted it temporary clearance for the Fire Fish Festival. The owner is working to correct violations and the fire department is working to schedule follow-up inspections, Radman said.

At 822 Broadway, the building is locked up, its utilities are shut off and there are no fire code violations per se, Radman said.

At 858 Broadway, Radman said his opinion, based on visible exterior conditions, is that the building should be demolished. He agreed 929 Broadway should be demolished, but there is no evidence that materials coming off the building contain asbestos.

Signs of improvement

The fire department is tasked with inspecting occupied and vacant commercial buildings around Lorain, the fire officers said. They said they do not engage in selective enforcement to single out a particular property owner or area of the city.

Despite some problems, Long and Radman agreed in recent months Broadway has improved.

The fire department is assembling a Vacant Commercial Property Registry to log what buildings are vacant and check for conditions that could become hazardous to neighboring residents or responding firefighters.

Radman timed it from July, when the department began ramping up efforts for the Vacant Commercial Property Registry. Long cited the work of Lorain developers Jon Veard and Victor Nardini and the growth of Spectrum Consulting Services.

“Even five years ago, it’s a big difference from what it was,” Long said. “It’s more of a flurry of activity than I’ve seen in decades.”