CONNEAUT —
City officials were encouraged to learn one of the town’s ugliest, blighted properties has a date soon with the wrecking ball.
The infamous Harrington Block on State Street, deemed so unsafe a chain link fence keeps pedestrians a safe distance from its crumbling facade, could be flattened sometime this fall. Legal issues regarding the building, and an adjoining structure to the west, need to be finalized before work begins, officials said last week.
The building is the first of several structures in Conneaut that could be razed with money the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. Local leaders want the building gone because of the bad impression it makes to first time visitors.
Once a rooming house for railroad workers, the three-story brick building near Chestnut Street is highly visible to motorists on busy Route 20. Last week, Ashtabula County commissioners awarded a $131,000 contract to a Campbell company to demolish the eyesore.
The action is an encouraging first step to deal with some of Conneaut’s condemned and uninhabitable houses and structures, said Luciana Ratermann, city planning/zoning manager. “We’re hoping we move right along,” she said.
City Council has already targeted a handful of properties for NSP demolition, including 450 Liberty St.; 177 Wrights Ave.; 284 Cleveland Court; 252 E. Main Road; and 732 Main St. At Monday’s council meeting, several others were slated to join the list: 255 Clay St.; 267 High St.; 770 Buffalo St.; 672 Buffalo St.; 350 Woodworth Road; 628 Mill St.; 510 Wrights Ave.; 533 Blair St.; and 397 Furnace Road.
In all, 22 Conneaut-area properties have been penciled in for abatement action. Officials caution, however, that research is still under way on some of the properties and legal glitches may ultimately prevent some demolition.
“We’re working with (Law Director David Schroeder),” Ratermann said.
The demolition program dovetails nicely with residents’ insistence that the city clean up its neighborhoods. The dog-eared appearance of the town was listed as a top concern at a recent community meeting.
Local News
Conneaut eyesores on demolition list
- Local News
-
-
Famous circus owner was fixture in Geneva theater
It has been more than 60 years since Walter L. Main passed from the local scene, but several area residents still recall the great showman from Geneva.
-
Local manufacturing industry not dead
The demise of the manufacturing industry in northeast Ohio is more myth than reality, according to area businesses and educators.
-
’Bula man dies in crash
An early morning fatal crash was one of more than 15 incidents that kept the Ohio Highway Patrol busy for most of the day Saturday.
-
Conneaut’s development headquarters takes shape
A small building two blocks from Lake Erie could become Conneaut’s economic development headquarters before the start of summer.
-
Sheriff’s detectives net two active meth labs
Acting on a tip, Ashtabula County Sheriff’s detectives and deputies uncovered an active methamphetamine lab Friday afternoon, according to Lt. Van Robison.
-
Former Ashtabula resident killed in car crash Tuesday
Ashley N. Penwell, 22, formerly of East Fourth St., Ashtabula, was pronounced dead at the scene of a Tuesday car crash on Charleston Pike Road in Chillicothe.
-
Ashtabula County is near top in 2011 bear sightings
Ashtabula County finished second in the number of black bear sightings reported in Ohio last year, according to a report from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife.
-
Break-in results in felony charges
A Conneaut man faces two felony charges stemming from a break-in at a vacant Cleveland Court house earlier this week, according to Conneaut Municipal Court records.
-
Conneaut Middle School’s Goodwill drive big success
Students and staff at Conneaut Middle School responded in a big way to a plea for donations issued late last month by Goodwill Industries of Ashtabula.
-
ACMC teams up with Goodwill on Valentine’s Day
This Valentine’s Day, area residents are encouraged to show their love by cleaning out their closets and heading over to Ashtabula County Medical Center.
- More Local News Headlines
-
