Oswego, NY -- The collapse of St. Louis Roman Catholic Church in Oswego has pushed city officials to look at other buildings in disrepair in the city. One, at 133 W. Fifth St., is due to be torn down, said codes enforcement officer Neal Smith. "Actually, this one was well in the pipeline before the St. Louis situation," Smith...
View full sizeJWJ Industries, of Mexico, continues work Friday afternoon to clear the rubble left when St. Louis Roman Catholic Church, at East Bridge and East Fourth streets in Oswego, collapsed. Oswego, NY -- The collapse of St. Louis Roman Catholic Church in Oswego has pushed city officials to look at other buildings in disrepair in the city.
One, at 133 W. Fifth St., is due to be torn down, said codes enforcement officer Neal Smith.
"Actually, this one was well in the pipeline before the St. Louis situation," Smith said. "The city and the owners were trying to get the building renovated so they could restore it. But with the condition of the building, we can’t continue to delay."
St. Louis Church, owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, collapsed July 25, just hours before the end of the annual Harborfest celebration. The collapse halted the last Harborfest events at Washington Square and some of the debris damaged cars of vendors parked along the road.
Debris from the church, at East Bridge and Fourth streets, is being removed by JWJ Industries out of Mexico. Work at the site began Wednesday and should last more than a week.
Smith said the building at 133 W. Fifth is architecturally significant, which is why more time was spent to try to save it.
"But vandals have gotten in a destroyed the chimney and the marble flooring, there are big holes in the walls and there are sloping floors. It has been bad, now it’s very bad," Smith said.
The building is owned by Ji Bin Tian and his wife, who run an Asian food restaurant nearby. Smith said the owners have agreed to have the building removed. They will pay for the demolition.
Smith said the city will get three proposals for the removal work.
Another building being looked at considered for demolition is a former dry cleaner site called Lambrino’s at 133 E. First St. Smith said the city is waiting on an environmental investigation that has to be done because of the dry cleaning chemicals that were used in the business.
Mayor Randolph Bateman said the building’s owner, Warren Shaw, may demolish the building himself and put in parking for another building he owns nearby. Shaw was out of town and could not be reached Friday.
Syracuse Diocese officials said they had no idea there were structural problems at St. Louis church, although others said there had been a lot of water damage in the 168-year-old building. The church had been closed and vacant since Dec. 31, 2000.
The diocese is paying for the St. Louis demolition and clean up. Jim Merrill, its director of risk management, said the diocese "plans to make the site look nice," cleaning it up and planting grass.
Contact Debra J. Groom at dgroom@syracue.com, 470-3254 or 251-5586.