Demolition postponed as owner empties building

The owners of a deteriorating building in South Lorain will have until fall to tear it down, according to a ruling by the Lorain Demolition Board of Appeals.

On June 17, the Demo Board voted unanimously to grant a stay of execution of the demolition order until November for the building at 2261 Homewood Drive.

The former Hills department store and power equipment salvage yard also uses the address 3725 Grove Ave., which also is Ohio Route 57.

In May, the Demo Board condemned the structure and ruled it should be razed within 30 days.

A month later, George Kafantaris, member of property owner GNM LLC, reported a wrecking company quoted a price of $48,890 to take down the building and $106,700 to remove the building’s slab foundation.

“We’ve been cleaning the property,” Kafantaris said. “As you guys can tell, we’ve completely cleaned out the equipment.”

The company was obtaining containers to clean out the debris left in the yard and the inside of the building is mostly cleaned out, he said.

There is some miscellaneous equipment to remove, Kafantaris said, and he asked for more time to clean out the building.

The company hopes to have an auction for items remaining inside, he said.

“We don’t really need it, but it’s not trash,” Kafantaris said. “We’d like to recoup some of our money from cleaning the building out.”

The demolition order includes removal of the building and foundation, said Max Upton, director of Department of Building, Housing and Planning for the city.

The Demo Board members had relatively little discussion on the issue.

Deliberations lasted less than six minutes.

Upton asked for the updated order to include monthly progress reports to him, the city’s chief building official and building inspector Housing Rehabilitation Administrator Greg Landry.

In May, Landry presented the photographs and inspection report on the building condition.

He said the building violates Lorain codes, but he could not determine if the cost of renovations and upgrades would exceed 50 percent of the property value determined by the Lorain County Auditor.

The building and land is valued at $667,480, and owners currently owe $19,967 in property taxes, according to auditor’s records.

RICHARD PAYERCHIN —THE MORNING JOURNAL On May 20, the Lorain Demolition Board of Appeals condemned the former power equipment salvage yard at 2261 Homewood Drive, South Lorain.