Shane Furniture building demo back on after Elyria Council overrides mayor's veto

ELYRIA — Demolition of the former Shane Furniture is back on track after City Council overrode the mayor's veto Tuesday. During a City Council meeting, nine of the 11 Council members voted to move forward with demolition of the condemned building. Councilman Mark Jessie, D-3rd Ward, was absent; Councilman Jack Baird, R-at large, voted against it. Baird said he was interested in giving a group of people time to finish a project proposal that would rehabilitate the current building at 327 Broad St. He said the building didn't get bad overnight, and it won't get better overnight either. But other Council members questioned the lack of funding for a potential $10 million project. The six-story building downtown was condemned April 12 this year for multiple fire and building code violations, including the lack of a fire suppression system, partial building collapses and a sub-cellar filled with water. The building was deemed unsafe to the general public and a notice was issued by the city Building Department. After an over 30-day period to allow the owners to appeal, City Council chose to move forward with demolition June 15. Mayor Frank Whitfield vetoed that legislation June 23. He said he wasn't making a judgement call on whether the building should stay or go, but to give the city more time to gather information. Whitfield said he wants to ensure something happens with the space, whether it's demolished or rehabilitated. He said he understands Council's decisions and that he'll work with community organizations to revitalize 327 Broad St. either way. One group has been campaigning to keep the building for retail and low-income housing. Steven Rice, member of Blank Slate Elyria, said he didn't want to present the entire project, as it wasn't entirely ready for the public. But he said he can go after multiple tax credits to pay for "40 to 70 percent of the project." Councilman Kenny Oswald, D-4th Ward, questioned whether he'd be able to get every piece of funding needed to complete a massive rehabilitation. Kelly Kraus Mencke, who is part of the project, said she knows the state of Ohio would be interested in tax credits, while Rice said there are plenty of people who would want to invest in the project. Blank Slate, along with Kraus Mencke, wanted time to get enough information to present. Rice said a couple extra months would be needed for a full proposal. Given the condemnation, Law Director Amanda Deery said her department is now authorized to take any action necessary for the building. "Honestly, the fact that they are saying that they will know more in months makes me want to break out in hives," Deery said. "Because I honestly don't know that there are months on this. … It's not going to be a surprise to any of you, but this building is not insurable." Instead of talking through the issues with the former Shane Furniture building, Building Inspector Darryl Farkas showed pictures from the inspection. Bricks are bulging outward from the building, a metal strap is being used to hold the chimney to the building, mortar has fallen down onto another part of the roof, a small tree grew on the roof, cement is decaying around the rebar, the stand pipe is missing, a beam embedded into the brick veneer is rotting and every room is filled with clutter. "It's not just the structural integrity," Farkas said. "It's multiple issues — the electrical, the plumbing, the heating. In essence, it's a death by a thousand cuts. It's not just one thing." Rice said even if the city moved forward with demolition, it would take months to stabilize the building before an eventual tear down. He said the group couldn't put a $10 million project together in two weeks. The interior of the building would have to be gutted, he said. And it would be a top to bottom fix. Council President Vic Stewart, D-at large, questioned how the interested groups would pay for the more than $18,000 in back taxes and then also for the netting that has to be put up. Stewart said grants won't cover that part. If the group bought the building, it would likely have to put up money for that. As of now, the city plans to put up netting and a fire alarm system. Initial quotes on that are $88,000 for the netting and $12,458 for a spot protection alarm system, which would give minimum protection. With the building condemned, Stewart said it is the city's responsibility to take action. City Engineer John Schneider said it would likely take two to three months to get the process started. First there would need to be an environmental process, then contractors would have to go in and assess before bidding the project out. Stewart said that gives the Blank Slate and Kraus Mencke group enough time to move forward. He said the city can stop the process at any time, but right now it has to move forward for safety reasons. Contact Laina Yost at (440) 329-7121 or lyost@chroniclet.com.