City targets 9 houses for razing

Council approves $141K for demolition of derelict, unsafe, nuisance buildings

Lorain will spend $141,460 in coming weeks to demolish nine derelict houses.

On Oct. 4, Lorain City Council approved spending the money and the Lorain Board of Control gave its approval a day later.

Council members praised the demolition plan for taking down more houses that are nuisances to public health and safety.

“I’m really happy to see that we continue to remove blighted conditions in our city,” said Councilman-at-Large Mitch Fallis.

Fallis noted council members said the structures have been in bad condition for a long time.

The city is making progress on a big task, Fallis said.

Councilwoman-at-Large Mary Springowski said she would share “the wonderful news” about demolition with neighbors of 1002 W. 21st St.

They will be happy because that house gets reported at least three times a week for bad conditions, she said.

“That will be such a relief to the people that have had to suffer with these buildings — they’re not even houses.. .” — Mary Springowski

“Thank you to everybody involved with this,” Springowski said. “It is way past time.

“That will be such a relief to the people that have had to suffer with these buildings — they’re not even houses — with these buildings around them.”

Ward 5 Councilwoman JoAnne Moon said she was pleased with the list.

In Ward 5, people are restoring some badly damaged houses and hiring people for the work, Moon said.

Council President Joel Arredondo cited the work of Yaser Etayem, owner of the Westgate Plaza, 2530 W. 21st St.

That structure has been an eyesore for years, but Etayem has a goal to make it usable again, Arredondo said.

Not all structures have to be torn down, and the shopping center is an example of a great thing happening in the city, he said.

Ward 1 Councilwoman Beth Henley praised the work of Building, Housing and Planning Director Max Upton for coordinating the demolitions.

The city will use Community Development Block Grant money to pay for the demolitions.

Advanced Demolition Services was the lowest of four bidders for the job, according to city records.

The Lorain Board of Control is made up of Mayor Jack Bradley and SafetyService Director Sanford Washington. Since the middle of 2020, the city has taken down about 60 homes, not counting demolitions due to fires or through the Lorain County Land Reutilization Corp., known as the county land bank.

The other houses are:

• 113 W. 28th St.,

• 210 W. 23rd St.

• 338 W. 23rd St.

• 346 W. 23rd St.

• 1002 W. 21st St.

• 1029 W. 9th St.

• 2213 E. 32nd St.

• 2380 Apple Ave. This address no longer is a house, but is a pile of rubble.

• 3155 McKinley St. It was unclear if this house would remain on the list because it appeared repairs were happening and the front door had displayed a blue city permit to install new siding and eight windows, dated Sept. 21.

Demolishing problem houses is good news, Springowski said, but she has another target list of rundown buildings.

One Cleveland Boulevard house has become an apartment for raccoons, opossums and all sorts of animals, she said.

More concerning, is the possibility of homeless people wintering or children playing in empty houses that are not safe, Springowski said.

PHOTOS BY RICHARD PAYERCHIN — THE MORNING JOURNAL Lorain City Council and the city Board of Control have approved spending $141,960to demolish nine homes around the city, including the pile of rubble that used to be 2380 Apple Ave., seen here on Oct. 5.

210 W. 23rd St.

It was unclear if the house at 3155 McKinley St. would remain on the city’s demo list because the blue paper seen on the front door is a Sept. 21, 2021, city permit to install new siding and eight windows in the home.

346 W. 23rd St., left, and 338 W. 23rd St.

1029 W. Ninth St.

2213 E. 32nd St.

113 W. 28th St.