LOUDONVILLE — A house on South Spring Street is slated for demolition next month after the village purchased the property using federal pandemic relief money.
Rob Cutlip, a contractor based in Perrysville, has been hired by the Ashland County Land Bank to demolish the house — 135 South Spring St. — for $8,900.
The demolition is scheduled for early July.
Bill Harvey, the land bank’s director, said the Ohio EPA has 10 days to review an asbestos test done on the property. None was found, but state regulators must review the test, he said.
The EPA wait period expires July 1.
“So hopefully it can come down by the first week of July, or maybe the second,” he said.
Loudonville entered into a purchase agreement for $100,000 in October. The family of five living there was given until the end of January to move out.
Village council minutes reflect the family moved out by late January or early February.
The village used a combination of general funds and American Rescue Plan Act money to purchase the property.
The plan is to put a parking lot on the property to alleviate parking issues as the Riverside Park’s ball fields nearby.
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How is the demolition funded?
The demolition is being funded by the land bank through what’s known as an “agreement for nuisance removal.” Essentially, the deal allows an existing owner to retain ownership while the structure is demolished by the land bank.
The land bank has demolished buildings and houses using this process now in Hayesville, Ashland and Jeromesville. State law allows this process to play out in cities and villages — but not in townships.
Land bank members have said placing liens on properties under this scenario avoids the inherent risk of paying for a demolition that increases the value of the property, and losing out on gains to the owner after a subsequent sale.
The Ashland land bank did not place a lien on the South Spring Street property, according to Harvey, the land bank’s director.
“That’s because it’s owned by the village,” Harvey said, adding the land bank will most likely only place liens on properties owned privately undergoing the nuisance removal process.