NEW ALBANY —
Standing a few feet from what remained of the structure, New Albany Building Commissioner David Brewer said he was pleased for several reasons with the razing of the former Graham Chiropractic building.
Not least among the benefits of bringing down the dilapidated structure, according to Brewer, is that local contractor CCE Inc. demolished the building at no cost to taxpayers.
“He offered his services free of charge because he knows it’s the right thing to do,” Brewer said of CCE owner Jeff Eastridge, who joined the building commissioner Thursday as his crew brought down the structure formally located at 3012 St. Joseph Road near the Dairy Queen off Charlestown Road.
The building was engulfed by flames in January 2009, as the fire gutted most of the building, which was less than 10 years old at the time of the blaze. SLG Properties LLC owned the land, according to Brewer, but no repairs were made to the structure and it eventually went up for bidding during a tax sale. Brewer said a company named Halifax purchased the land, but never received the title to the property.
Meanwhile, the building continued to fall into further disrepair, Brewer said.
“The structure was ready to collapse in areas,” he said. “There was no roof structure to keep the walls from sliding.”
There wasn’t a funding source available to foot the demolition of the building because it was located in the two-mile fringe area between around New Albany city limits, Brewer said. The New Albany City Council has approved funding for some demolitions within the city, but Brewer said getting money to raze the building presented problems because of its location. He estimated it would have cost the city as much as $9,000 to tear down the building without CCE’s help.
Once Eastridge offered his services free of charge, Brewer said an emergency demolition order was quickly approved with Mayor Jeff Gahan’s blessing.
“The mayor was adamant about making sure we protect our city, plus this has been such a blight to the community for so long,” Brewer said.
The area stands to be more visibly appealing without the view of the faulty structure, Eastridge said.
“It’s a main corridor — you get off the highway and it’s the first thing you see,” said Eastridge, as the building was located near the Interstate 265 interchange along Charlestown Road.
The structure sat across the road from the Prosser School of Technology.
CCE was the source of some contention among city bodies in 2009, as the recycling and demolition company attempted to move its business along Ind. 111 after being cited for codes violations at its former location. But Eastridge said CCE remains committed to New Albany, as the contractor recently donated mulch to fill in around signage near the Ohio River Greenway.
Eastridge said hopefully the area will be somewhat safer and more appealing now that the building has been demolished.
“It really just kind of helps out everybody,” he said.
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Related Photos
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CCE workers razed the former Graham Chiropractic building at 3012 St. Joseph Road on Thursday. The company donated its services to tear down the structure, which was damaged by a fire in 2009. Staff photo by Daniel Suddeath
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