Saturday, November 19th, 2022
Out with the old, in the new
By William Kincaid
Photo by Leslie Gartrell/The Daily Standard
A long vacant building near the intersection of State Routes 127 and 219 will be razed as part of a state-funded, countywide community revitalization initiative. Mercer County was the recipient of a $500,000 Ohio Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program grant.
CELINA - A state-funded community revitalization initiative will kick off in Mercer County with the removal of a pile of rubble on Celina property and the razing of a long vacant block building near the intersection of State Routes 127 and 219.
County commissioners awarded a $33,890 contractor to Post Excavating and Landscaping of Fort Recovery to complete the first of a series of projects bankrolled with a $500,000 Ohio Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program grant.
The county office of community development solicited bids for the combined demolition and rubble removal project estimated at about $45,000.
VTF Excavation of Celina also submitted a bid of $49,902 for the work.
Post Excavating and Landscaping will rid the rubble at 704 North Street in Celina left after city employees tore down a structure to make room for a new $2.08 million storage building for the Celina electric distribution facility.
"We were able to do that ourselves," Celina mayor Jeff Hazel said of the block building's demolition. "We had (an) excavator so we worked on it. We were really concerned and thought we might have to pull somebody in but then the building literally, it just toppled."
Arcon Builders of Arcanum will construct a 20,000 square foot steel frame storage building with metal exterior walls and roof panels and metal interior wall panels.
"They're waiting for the steel package to come in now. They've got all the concrete knee walls up. They've got all the floor poured," Hazel said.
As part of the county-awarded project, the Fort Recovery firm will also demolish a block building at 6029 State Route 219. The building has been vacant for several years, county community development director Jared Ebbing confirmed.
Once cleared, the site has potential for development, Ebbing said.
"They were the first two ready to go," Ebbing said of the two properties.
Photo by Leslie Gartrell/The Daily Standard
Mercer County officials early next year will solicit bids for the razing of the former Orchard Tree restaurant, clearing the way for the proposed Mercer Health Medical Group Women's and Children's facility.
Bids are currently being sought for the demolition of an old home at 6025 Clover Four Road. Next year, county official look to take down the former Orchard Tree restaurant, 501 Grand Lake Road; the former Spriggs building located at 222 N. Main Street and a few residences.
"Obviously Orchard Tree can be reused now for a clean site for Mercer Health and that's a good thing for the community," Ebbing said.
Gov. Mike DeWine's Ohio Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program was reportedly developed to help local communities tear down dilapidated commercial and residential buildings and revitalize surrounding properties to attract investments, businesses and jobs.
"When we had this money we had to kind of hurry up and put some quick estimates together and those projects kind of rose to the top," Ebbing said of the selection process. "We did the best we could in a short time frame with picking projects that met as many of those criteria as possible."
In total, the Ohio Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program will award approximately $150 million in grants for demolition and revitalization projects across the state.
"With these grants, we're giving communities the resources they need to help clean up and revitalize sites to remove eyesores and attract new business," Lt. Governor Jon Husted said in a news release.
Preble County, which did not submit an application, is the only one of Ohio's 88 counties not to receive grants funds, per state documents.
