Lorain to consider St. Joe consultant for demolition

By RICHARD PAYERCHIN rpayerchin@MorningJournal.com @MJ_JournalRick

LORAIN Demolition of part of the St. Joseph Community Center could take another step forward on Monday.

Lorain City Council will consider hiring a consultant who would plan asbestos removal and tear down of the oldest section of the St. Joseph hospital, 205 W. 20th St., which has frontage along Broadway.

The Community Development Department is recommending the city hire Hull & Associates Inc., of Toledo, to determine exactly what section would be demolished.

The exact area was not set because city staff and consultants must consider what section will remain standing and where utility lines, such as electric, gas and plumbing, will be connected to the building, said Doug Rangel, executive director of the Lorain Development Corp.

Unfortunately, its not quite as simple as just knocking down one building, cutting the lines and thats it, Rangel said.

The exact tear-down area likely will encompass the space known as buildings D and E, about 63,170 square feet of space in the block between Broadway and Livingston Avenue, according to plans.

The center would keep up the areas known as buildings A and C, which includes the five-story former hospital space. Existing tenants would fill the first floor of the remaining center and there would be additional space to grow, Rangel said.

The process will be a surgical demolition because the vacant, older section of the building is attached to a portion that still has tenants, Rangel said. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Lorain County Community College, the Lorain Sports Hall of Fame, the Lorain County Clerk of Courts Title Office and other tenants still remain in parts of the former hospital.

If the oldest area is demolished, it would affect the construction education division of LCCC, but likely would not affect the other sections where tenants are, Rangel said.

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Lorain to consider St. Joe consultant for demolition