Parkersburg URA votes to demolish three structures
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PARKERSBURG -- The Parkersburg Urban Renewal Authority voted Tuesday to demolish a commercial building and two residential structures at 19th Street and Dudley Avenue.
The authority, which consists of all nine members of Parkersburg City Council, voted in February to purchase 1129 19th St., a large commercial structure that until recently housed Runyon's Lock Service and a tattoo shop, as well as adjacent residential structures at 1127 19th St. and 1907/1913 Dudley Ave. for a combined $120,886.27.
The buildings had multiple code violations and structural issues, which the owner could not address, officials said.
Offers had been made to purchase the residential structures, but the authority voted Tuesday to demolish all three in a 5-1 vote with Councilwoman Wendy Tuck opposed and Councilmen Bob Mercer, J.R. Carpenter and Chris Rexroad absent.
Parkersburg Code Enforcement Director Andy Nestor said that while he did not believe any building was beyond fixing, he thought that it would not be financially feasible to rehabilitate these.
"The brick structure's probably the worst structure," he said of the commercial building.
The house at 1127 19th St. "was a very rehabable structure at one time," Nestor said. "Since we acquired it, somebody has (gone) in there and stripped all the wood off the baseboards, all the railings … and still when we looked at it at that time, we felt that it might be rehabable. Since then, those properties have been entered again and demolished more."
The city has secured the buildings but people continue to break in and cause more damage, Nestor said.
Deirdre Prince, with Prince Rentals LLC, offered $5,000 for 1127 19th St. She was asked if she wanted to revise her offer for the vacant lot, but she declined. So did James Blow, who offered $4,000 for 1907/1913 Dudley Ave.
"I do not want to buy a vacant lot," Blow said.
Prince's sister, Alisa, said the city needs to consider rehabilitating homes instead of demolishing them.
"It's less expensive to rehab than to build new," she said. "We need to take the recycling approach, stop tearing down all these homes."
A parking lot close to the three buildings was offered to the URA by Arc of Mid-Ohio Valley Inc., a nonprofit which had been leasing spaces to the commercial tenants at 1129 19th St. The proposed purchase price was the fair market value of $48,000, but no members made a motion to accept it.
The URA voted 5-0, after Councilman Mike Reynolds left the meeting, to acquire a dilapidated house at 1331 Market St. via eminent domain. The owner of the building is listed as Aaron Inc., a company City Planner Connor LaVelle said went out of business in the 1990s. Patrica Weigle, the point of contact for the company and the person who has been responsible for the property for several years, said she needed more time to get the house in shape and had been prevented from doing so by multiple medical issues.
"I know that it needs cleaned up," she said. "So I'm willing to do it."
Council President Sharon Kuhl said Weigle has appeared before the city's Building Enforcement Agency multiple times over the last three years and requested additional time before.
Residents of a house next door, Leon and Terri Miller, said the structure is a blight and they would like to buy the lot after it is demolished to extend their yard.
"It would take a phenomenal amount of money to rehabilitate that house," Leon Miller said.
The URA voted to secure the property and decide whether to demolish it at a later date.
Earlier, the authority also voted 6-0 to acquire a blighted structure at 1208 Ann St. via eminent domain and decide on demolition or rehabilitation later.
In other business, the URA accepted the donation of a dilapidated house at 1014 14th St. on a 6-0 vote and unanimously voted to demolish a building at 1401 Andrew St. The latter structure had been accepted as a donation at a previous meeting, but the disposition of the property was not specified.
The authority voted 6-0 to refer a discussion of its priorities and objectives in relation to the city's 2030 comprehensive plan to its Committee of the Whole.
Clara Noelle can be reached at intern@newsandsentinel.com.
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.