Lorain sees rehab start on Camden Avenue properties, demands structural review of Eagles Building

LORAIN – Two homes on Camden Avenue are getting upgrades. The homes at 3144 and 3326 Camden Ave., purchased in September by William Lundberg, of Sheffield Lake, appeared on the city's Demolition Board of Appeals agenda Thursday morning. Rather than Building, Housing and Planning staff listing a litany of housing code violations at either site, they lauded Lundberg's work the past couple months to bring the properties up to code. Lundberg purchased the homes from Premier Development Group, Inc. Sheffield Lake Councilman-elect Aden Fogel owns Premier Development Group. Since buying the lots, Lundburg said he gutted the property at 3144 Camden Ave. and started major renovations inside including replacing floor joists for the second story, installing new windows and starting work on an addition to add a third bedroom to the home. Chief Building Official Dave Faciana said Lundburg had submitted plans to his department. "This has been an eyesore on Camden since I've been here six, seven years, if not longer," Faciana said. "It's good to see someone taking these properties and doing something with them." Similarly, Councilwoman Mary Springowski, D-at Large, applauded Lundberg's work. "I know you've got a heck of a job ahead of you," she said. The property at 3326 Camden Ave. was not as far along as the one down the street, Lundberg told officials, but said he did clean up outside the property, including removing dumpsters full of discarded mattresses, furniture and other personal belongings. Springowski called his efforts in Camden's 3300 block "heroic." "I understand what you're facing with these properties," she said. "... To call them challenging would be a grave understatement." The home at 3326 Camden Ave. has been vacant for some time and has been on the city's demolition list since 2023. In August, a man's body was found in the trunk of a car parked alongside the street outside the home. Safety/Service Director Rey Carrion said Camden, Chelsea and Norfolk avenues in the city's 6th Ward have struggled for years and he hoped Lundberg's renovations could be a catalyst for change in the neighborhood. "I believe this could be a bright spot that we could show and engage other property owners in the are to do what you're doing," Carrion said. Lundberg told officials he was off to a slow start on the properties, but he hoped to have both completed within the next six to seven months. After continuing demolition stays on several other residential properties, which had renovations underway or nearly complete, the city took a less positive view of the long-vacant Eagles Building on Broadway. The Eagles Building, 573-577 Broadway, has seen work stop and start over the years, and the question of its demolition has come up time and again. The city's goal on Thursday was not to revoke its stay from the wrecking ball, Faciana and Building Inspector Andy Arocho said, but to assess the cost of a structural engineer to review the property onto the site's tax bill, which are already delinquent by nearly $8,500. Arocho told board members that the city had requested owner Gary Davis have a structural analysis completed of the building more than six months ago, but the request had been ignored. Members unanimously approved assessing the cost to the property. Davis did not attend Thursday's meeting. Springowski railed against him, calling him a slumlord who did not care about the property or if it was endangering passersby or neighboring structures. The Eagles Building has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1986. It was built in 1918 by the Fraternal Order of the Eagles and survived the 1924 tornado. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chronicle.com.