Osceola City Council approved 4-0 a bid from Denney Construction for the demolition of the properties at 101 and 103 West Washington Street at their Sept. 19 meeting; councilman Dr. George Fotiadis was absent.
Council had previously authorized RFPs to be sent out at the Aug. 15 meeting, and contractors had until Sept. 15 to return their bids. Two bids were received - one from Denney Construction at $565,335, and one from DeCarlo Corporation at $581,684.
The properties to be demolished are the conjoined large, brick buildings on the corner of North Main and Washington Streets; 101 was destroyed by a fire in April 2022.
The two-story building was built by R.M. Lewis over 120 years ago, sharing a wall with a building built by Norton Bailey shortly thereafter on the west side. Over the years, many businesses have occupied the retail spaces in 101 and 103, including a tire shop, a fabric store, a bookstore, Hylton’s Grocery Store, Young’s Furniture, White’s Furniture, Sally’s Hallmark and Flowers ‘N More.
Last summer, 101 West Washington was deemed a dangerous building under city code found in Chapter 145, which has a general definition of unsafe as:
“All buildings or structures which are structurally unsafe or not provided with adequate egress, or which constitute a fire hazard, or are otherwise dangerous to human life, or which in relation to existing use constitute a hazard to safety or health, or public welfare, by reason of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, obsolescence, or abandonment, are, for the purpose of this chapter, unsafe buildings. All such unsafe buildings are hereby declared to be public nuisances and shall be abated by repair, rehabilitation, demolition, or removal in accordance with the procedure specified in this chapter.”
(Chap. 145.02)
Demolition is expected to begin sometime in October, following the remediation of asbestos in 103 and removing the remaining material inside 101.