The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Eagles Building netting required
City also wants South Lorain junkyard cleaned up
The owner of the Eagles Building in downtown Lorain must put a net over the facade to avoid stonework coming off, or repair it.
Meanwhile, city staff want action to clean up a former junkyard in South Lorain.
On Sept. 16, the Lorain Demolition Board of Appeals met to discuss two sites that need work.
Lorain businessman Gary Davis spoke to the Demo Board about the Eagles Building at 573577 Broadway.
His company Keokuk Constructions LLC owns it and in August the Demo Board ruled it needed protective netting on its front to avoid creating a hazard to walkers on Broadway.
Davis spoke about his experience in Tacoma, Wash., shoring up a nine-story building against earthquakes.
In Lorain, the Eagles Building has sustained damage in at least two spots due to lightning.
The building needs a lightning rod installed, Davis said.
The terra cotta tiles on the front of the building are there for looks and any holes can be filled in or replaced, Davis said.
There are no bricks falling off the building, he said.
City Assistant Law Director Don Zaleski and Max Upton, city director of the Department of Building, Housing and Planning, pressed Davis on installing the protective netting on the facade.
Davis said he has money to make repairs as soon as he has city permits for the work and would rather do that, instead of adding the mesh cover.
“The statement is, place the netting at this point in time,” said Lorain SafetyService Director Sanford Washington. “The board wants to see netting now, that’s where we are.”
It’s not fair to Davis to expect the work to be completed by the end of the month, but he could secure a contractor and positive action and documentation to put the netting on the building by then, Washington said.
The Demo Board also received copies of the “Eagles Building Facade Condition Survey Report,” completed for the Lorain Port and Financing Authority in May 2019.
South Lorain
City staff asked for progress at the former Hills department store and power equipment at 2261 Homewood Drive. The 4.35-acre property also uses the address 3725 Grove Ave.
In May, the Demo Board ruled the site was a nuisance to public health and safety that should be abated by demolition, Upton said.
The owners, George and Elias Kafantaris of GNM LLC, asked for an extension of time to November to address the issues there.
That time was granted with the condition the owners would provide monthly updates about remediating the site, Upton said.
Since then, the owners have made no updates.
There is a lack of progress and the city has received resident complaints, Upton said.
He asked the Demo Board to reconsider and terminate the extension.
The Board agreed and voted for it, with Lorain Fire Department Lt. Ben Weber abstaining from the vote.
The city legally must notify the owners of the actions, said city Assistant Law Director Don Zaleski.
More demolitions
The same day, the city had a deadline for bids for demolishing nine buildings.
The next houses on the city hit list are: 113 W. 28th St., 210 W. 23rd St., 338 W. 23rd St., 346 W. 23rd St., 1002 W. 21st St., 1029 W. Ninth St., 2213 E. 32nd St., 2380 Apple Ave., 3155 McKinley St.
Four companies bid on the work.
Advanced Demolition Services of McComb was the apparent low bidder with $128,600 for the job.
The other bidders were Great Lakes Deconstruction of Avon at $134,200; C&J Contractors Inc. of Cleveland at $181,305; and Siegel Excavating of Edinburg Pa. at $194,755.
City staff will review the paperwork and make a recommendation for Lorain City Council approval, likely at Council’s first regular meeting of October, said Matt Kusznir, neighborhood development specialist in the city’s Building, Housing and Planning Department.