Jul 16, 2022 2 min read

Another step has been taken toward removing blighted homes in the city of Washington.

At its meeting Thursday, council unanimously approved having the solicitor complete title searches for nine city properties that could eventually be approved for demolition.

The properties are: 1100 Fayette St., 345 McGiffen Ave., 244 Locust Ave., 102 Hall Ave., 249½ Elm St., 535 W. Chestnut St., 541 W. Chestnut St., 276 Locust Ave. and 1226 Summerlea Ave.

Once the title searches are complete, a demolition hearing will be held which allows property owners to have their say on the matter. At that point, council decides which of the properties will be forwarded to the redevelopment authority for demolition.

“According to our code enforcement officer, this is the list of the last of the really dangerous properties that we have,” said Mayor Scott Putnam. “Now we can make a concerted effort to start revitalizing houses instead of tearing them down.”

In June, seven properties were approved for demolition and released to the redevelopment authority for the next step in the process – 239 N. Main St., 18 Short St., 495 Ewing St., 840 Ewing St., 450 and 450½ E. Hallam Ave., 1195 Bruce St. and 765 Addison St.

Other items unanimously approved Thursday include:

• The conditional use application of Trek Development Group to convert some commercial office space to residential for one-bedroom apartments on floors 1-6 at 30 E. Beau St. The move is subject to the residential units being given priority in the parking lot at 52 E. Beau St. and eight parking spaces being set aside for care giver parking.
• The site plan application of Coen Oil Group for the consolidation of seven lots and the construction and expansion of the current commercial use at 1330 Jefferson Ave.

“They’re acquiring the properties behind that,” Putnam explained. “They’re going to demolish those properties and build a new store.”