City to demolish Lorain Products building

LORAIN — By next spring, the old Lorain Products building could find new life. Lorain is proposing to use $250,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds to demolish the site at 1122 F St. and turn it into a skate park. The sprawling complex on the city's east side has sat vacant for decades, a thorn in the side for council members and administrations. "I thought I might be dead before this building came down," Councilwoman Beth Henley, D-1st Ward, said. She was happy to see the project step forward, noting a skate park would be better than people getting into the abandoned site and shoving filing cabinets out the second floor windows. Building, Housing and Planning Director Max Upton and his staff gave a presentation Monday on several amendments to the city's CDBG allocations as there were changes to programs or funds left over in accounts. Upton said the property was previously declared a nuisance and added to the city's demo list in August 2020. Once Council is back in regular session, members can expect to see an ordinance transferring the deed of the F Street property to the city to allow for the demolition. The city will have to determine if the site will need asbestos abatement or other environmental remediations that could drive up the cost of demolition. Two east side teens suggested having a skate park, Upton said. While it would add another city park to the city's long list of parcels, the mostly concrete site would be easier to maintain, he said. Paul Stocker co-founded Lorain Products Corporation in 1936, growing it to a multi-plant manufacturing facility of telecommunications equipment. It became a subsidiary of Reliance Electric in 1973 after Stocker's retirement. Most recently the property operated under Emerson Network Power. It was forfeited to the state in 2019 and purchased that same year by an LLC registered to an Oberlin Avenue address. The city's amended plan also includes allocating $210,000 to Harrison Cultural Center for a new parking lot and upgrades to its basketball court and playground, and lowering the allocation for Main Street Lorain from $50,000 to $20,000 for employment training. Another $400,000 will go toward owner-occupied home repair programs for senior citizens in the city. Changes to Lorain's Block Grant allocations must be approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development following a brief public comment period. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.