Demolition nears for former Elder-Beerman building

The property owner, Skyway Properties LLC, was contacted in April and given 45 days to supply the city with a plan to correct issues with the building. That deadline came and passed, Mike Gebhart, Fairborn’s community development coordinator, said. Now, the city is tackling the $250,000 project on its own.

“We have a directive to make sure the safety, health, and welfare of our residents is a priority,” Gebhart said. “A building like this is a nuisance — and it’s an unsafe nuisance.”

The cost of the project will ultimately be billed to Skyway Properties LLC. If the bill is not paid, the city will turn the invoice into the county auditor and it will be placed on the tax bill as a lien on the property.

Long-time Fairborn resident Clifford Underwood, who used to shop at the Elder-Beerman store, said he does not like the idea of taxpayers footing the bill.

“The owner should have kept it up, just like I keep up my home. It’s not fair,” Underwood said.

Danies Carmack, owner of Skyway Properties LLC, declined to comment.

When demolition is complete, Gebhart said the site will be regraded and grass will be sown “until whomever comes down the road in the future.” He stressed, however, that the project is strictly being done for safety reasons — not economic development.

Crews have been prepping the building for demolition since December, when Fairborn city council awarded a demolition contract to Evans Landscaping in the amount of $185,000. The city also entered into a contract with Rainbow Environmental Services, Inc. for asbestos testing and abatement in an amount not to exceed $100,000.

Last week, however, the city upped its contact with the company to $107,950 after another round of testing revealed that the black mastic flooring adhesive used on the 57,300 square feet of flooring contained asbestos.

Gebhart said the discovery will not affect the project’s timeline and he’s hopeful the city will get the go-ahead to proceed with the demolition during the week of Feb. 16. “The equipment is on site, ready to go. It’s just a matter of overcoming the cold weather.”

The solvent used to soften and remove the floor mastic does not work as well in below-freezing temperatures, Gebhart said.