The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
End is near for Kohart Building at 929 Broadway
The end is near for a building that downtown observers say has become a vacant eyesore on Broadway in Lorain.
The Lorain County Land Reutilization Corp. will demolish 929 Broadway, known as the Kohart Building, said Patrick Metzger, director of the Lorain County Port Authority.
The County Port Authority oversees the operations of the land reutilization corporation, which also is known as the county land bank.
“We had just about completed the asbestos abatement with those panels on the outside of the building,” Metzger said.
That will be the first part of the demolition, he said.
The county land bank will seek bids from contractors to take down the front, multi-story part of the building, Metzger said.
The rear part of the building has a newer brick appurtenance that is like a garage.
It looks to be in good shape and county staff hope it can remain and be used for something practical, Metzger said.
“It’s not in the greatest shape, and it was neglected for so long, it was determined to be unsalvageable, at least, that portion of it,” he said. “Not that it was neglected by us, but neglected by the previous owners.” It was unclear exactly how much the demolition would cost.
Price quotes could come in as early as next week, Metzger said. The land bank will use money from the county’s delinquent real estate tax fund to pay for the demolition, he said. In November 2017, Lorain Growth Corp.-Main Street Lorain President Jim Long used the 929 Broadway building as an example of structures reaching a tipping point, meaning they were deteriorating so much that demolition might be the only option. Long assembled some observers who began examining the buildings and commenting publicly on them. “I think some of the comments we made were the catalyst to getting it down,” Long said. The Kohart building was so bad that it was causing annoyance at least and damage at worst to neighbors who had to clean tar and shingles that blew off, he said. “The roof is just flaking off,” Long said. “I’m glad to have it come down because it’s been an eyesore.
“It gives a bad appearance to something you’re trying to develop.” A next-door neighbor said the impending demolition was good news — as long as the building does not fall down first. “It was, in my opinion, dangerously close to collapse,” said Jon Veard, the Lorain businessman who owns and aims to redevelop the former Visual Expressions building at 901 Broadway. Veard offered a list of problems, starting with the north wall, which is buckling at the bottom. The south wall is buckling into the building between the second and third floors. Bricks on the front are coming off of the building, Veard said. Inside, the roof had collapsed from the third floor into the second floor and it appears the second floor is about to collapse into the first floor, he said. “To me, the building is very much in danger of total collapse, and I’ve read that the owners are taking it down,” Veard said. “It’s the right thing to do.”