Units 33 through 44 on Superior Court were demolished on Monday.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
LIMA — One step at a time the city of Lima is being restored to its former glory. One property was demolished Monday afternoon to make way for something new. Units 33 through 44 on Superior Court were officially torn down. Public Works Director Kirk Niemeyer weighed in on the project and future demolitions.
“There are a lot of good-looking houses and people that take care of their property,” Niemeyer said. “Our goal is to get the ones down that people have neglected and that bring the neighborhood down.”
Niemeyer also said the property that was demolished still belongs to the owners and not the city. Following demolitions, property owners determine the next steps.
“The properties will stay with individual names and they (the owners) will just have a vacant lot,” Niemeyer said. “We will basically clean everything up. The steps and foundations are removed about three feet below grade to break up the concrete so they do not hold water.”
The properties were demolished through the Block Grant funding program. According to Niemeyer, Lima utilizes $80,000 to $100,000 to address properties each year.
The city also is addressing blight through the Better Together Program.
“Our effort is to get it down as quickly as possible so the rest of the neighborhood can continue to thrive and move on,” Niemeyer said. “A new thing the administration has decided to do to let people know that things are in the works is put out the sign to let people know what is being done about a property.”
The city has marked sites of future projects with signs indicating what is to come.
“The white and blue signs tell you it is eminent that it (the property) is coming down or it has started the legal process,” Niemeyer said. “There is a 20-step process that we have to follow to get through some of these — we implemented the volunteer demolition program this year to expedite the 20-step process and people are taking advantage of it both from garages and residential properties.”
For more information on the programs or future projects visit www.cityhall.lima.oh.us.
Reach Precious Grundy at 567-242-0351.
