ASHTABULA — The owner of the old Carlisle building may be in prison, but he’s barring cars from his parking lot.
Gary Harris, formerly of Conneaut, is serving time in federal prison for tax evasion. In the meantime, the building and the parking lot are deteriorating, while area residents have been using the parking lot during parades, veterans memorial services and, on Sundays, for church services at the First Baptist Church.
On Thursday, two representatives for Harris contacted the Star Beacon to say Harris does not want people to park there.
“It’s a private parking lot,” said on representative, who didn’t want her name in the newspaper.
“Mr. Harris has not given his permission for anyone to park there.”
The building has become a huge eyesore in downtown Ashtabula, but from 2003 to 2007, the Civic Development Corp. of Ashtabula and the Ashtabula Port Authority worked together on a plan to buy, remodel and redevelop the building. The plan was to turn the property into an office complex for 10 or more nonprofit organizations. If successful, the plan would have brought 100 people to work downtown five days a week, revitalizing the area. Stuart Cordell, then-president of CDC’s board of trustees, said the whole package to develop the property would have come to more than $10 million.
Led by chairman Ron Kister, the Port Authority would have served as owner, manager of redevelopment and landlord. The idea caught on with the community, and in April 2005, KeyBank presented CDC with a $75,000 multiyear grant to help purchase the building.
In 2006, Port Authority officials met with Harris at an eminent-domain hearing held in Common Pleas Court. The meeting followed several unsuccessful attempts to negotiate a sale price.
Harris worried about his belongings in the building, said Carmen “Lefty” Corbissero, Port Authority secretary.
Today, nearly six years after the initial evaluation of the Carlisle property, parts of the building’s roof have disintegrated, there are mold and vermin, and the freeze-thaw cycle has wreaked havoc with the building.
Local News
Don’t park here
Harris in jail but doesn’t want people parking at Carlisle lot
- Local News
-
-
Murder suspect kills self at mother’s grave
Madison Township police officers found the body of a murder suspect in the Alexander Harper Cemetery on Thursday afternoon, ending a day-long, multi-county manhunt.
-
Presses stopped
It was June 23, 1969.
-
Airport takes off with a new name
A new name for the Ashtabula County Airport is winding its way through the regulatory channels.
-
Property owners must pay for meth labs in Jefferson
An ordinance requiring landowners to pay for the clean-up costs of clandestine drug labs was unanimously adopted by Village Council.
-
Elections board gets help with time-consuming tasks
A Xenia company specializing in election services will take on some time-consuming tasks that should help contain the Ashtabula County Board of Elections’ labor costs, members said.
-
Commissioners pay to get the business
Commissioners on Tuesday approved a $15,000 contract with Growth Partnership for Ashtabula County to provide business service representation on behalf of the county’s One-Stop job training center.
-
Grand Valley sixth grader wins Ashtabula County Spelling Bee
James Elliott, a sixth grader at Grand Valley Middle School, clinched his win of the 29th annual Ashtabula County Area V Spelling Bee by successfully spelling the words “physique” and “daffodil.”
-
Sports, academics to come together
SPIRE Institute will expand its educational base and accept international students into its sports performance programs through a partnership with the Andrews Osborne Academy, Ted Meekma, SPIRE management team member, announced Wednesday.
-
Conneaut Chamber lauds top citizen, ‘Champions’
Nicholas Iarocci, Conneaut’s 2011 Citizen of the Year, needed plenty of gulps of water to complete his acceptance speech Tuesday night.
-
Felony charge filed in robbery
An Ashtabula woman who police said grabbed a woman’s purse inside a Conneaut supermarket late Monday afternoon faces a felony charge in Conneaut Municipal Court, according to reports.
- More Local News Headlines
-
