In an ongoing effort to keep our downtown businesses, residents and visitors informed as to the latest status of the West Main Street closure, we are providing a weekly update each Wednesday until the Cherry Street to Plum Street block is opened back up to vehicles.
CURRENT STATUS AS OF ABOVE DATE
It has been 110 days since West Main Street between Plum and Cherry Streets was closed due to the grave concerns of collapse of the Tavern Building. On September 11th, the Common Pleas Court issued an Entry publishing the opinion of its expert witness, Structural Engineer Daniel Geers. In that opinion, Mr. Geers did not communicate an opinion relative to the stability of the building. He did, however, state that:
If funds were not a concern, they [buildings including the Tavern Building] could be restored to their original condition, but this is likely economically unfeasible given the extent of the various deteriorations. Furthermore, the characteristics of these buildings are such that it would be challenging to convert them to a different use under the current Ohio Building Code, without incurring more expense than it would take to tear them down and construct completely new buildings.
Part of the Court’s Entry included the scheduling of a lawyers’ conference, which was held on September 22nd. That conference resulted in the Court lifting several minor ‘stays’ and ordering written briefs by October 20th to determine whether the preliminary injunction denying demolition of the building should be lifted.
**SCHEDULING UPDATE**
On October 6, 2023, the Miami County Prosecutor, on behalf of Miami County Chief Building Official Rob England (CBO) and his supervisor Rich Osgood, filed a Motion to limit the scope of discovery and briefing regarding the Renewed ‘Emergency Motion to Dissolve Agreed Preliminary Injunction.’ On October 10th, the City of Troy filed a similar Motion on behalf of Fire Chief Matt Simmons. The Preliminary Injunction currently prohibits the property owner from demolishing the building, in spite of the CBO’s declaration that the Tavern Building cannot be repaired and must be razed. The Court has added 3 weeks to the deadline for filing written briefs, extending the date from October 20th to November 10th. Further, the Court has set two scheduling conferences on all matters for November 13th and December 11th.
BACKGROUND
On June 16, 2023 the Miami County/Troy Chief Building Official (CBO), his Structural Engineer, as well as the Troy Fire Chief and Assistant Chiefs conducted an on-site inspection of the building located at 112-118 West Main Street, also known as the Tavern Building. As a result of that inspection, the CBO’s Structural Engineer determined “the possibility of collapse of the northern wall of this structure is a grave concern…it is obvious that this structure is beyond reasonable repair and should be demolished due to it being a safety concern for human life and potential damage to adjacent structures.”
Based on that report, the Miami County Prosecutor filed a court motion requesting the Judge to order the building demolished. The CBO and Fire Chief also certified “…that the demolition of [The Tavern Building] is required by public safety because of unsafe or dangerous conditions.” On June 24th, the City installed barricades at the intersections of West Main Street between Cherry and Plum Streets. That section of West Main Street remains closed to vehicular traffic, as well as to pedestrian traffic in front of the Tavern Building.
CONTACT
The City of Troy is committed to providing up-to-the-minute information regarding this unfortunate issue and will be monitoring its status and will post updates on our social media and websites. Contact (937) 335-1725 if questions.