Staying with the story
The Springfield News-Sun has provided unmatched coverage of the Crowell-Collier Building in downtown Springfield, including the city’s numerous attempts to repair the structure, to the sale of the site in 2011.
Demolition is underway this week at the Crowell-Collier Building, after city officials complained the work was moving too slowly.
Work crews were busy Wednesday tearing down a walkway linking some of the buildings. Portions of other buildings are starting to come down as well, said Joe Reidy, an attorney for Columbus law firm Frost, Brown and Todd, which represents the facility’s owner.
Springfield city officials filed a complaint last month arguing Mosier Industrial Services, the facility’s owner, failed to move forward with the demolition in a meaningful manner, said said Jerry Strozdas, city law director for Springfield.
The city had previously filed a separate court order that called for Mosier to demolish three buildings that make up a portion of the complex, located at 200 W. High St. The site was once the home to one of the world’s largest magazine publishing companies, but has since fallen into disrepair, leaving a major eyesore downtown.
Mosier obtained demolition permits in November last year, but little progress had been made since, Strozdas said.
“The motion that we filed a week or so ago in court is asserting that they have not proceeded diligently, that in the last 90 days or so there’s been precious little activity,” Strozdas said.
But several factors have slowed demolition, including below-freezing temperatures and a water line break that flooded parts of the complex, Reidy said. Crews are not required to work on days when the temperature dips below 20 degrees for safety purposes, he said, adding there is no specific timeline to complete the project because it is weather-dependent.
“The forecast for next week is for warmer weather, so every day that we’ve got appropriate temperatures they’ll be working on the demolition of that building until it’s down,” Reidy said.
In January, a water line also burst, flooding the basement and elevator pit of one of the buildings and slowing demolition for more than three weeks, Reidy said.
The building is 900,000 square feet, making it one of the largest structures in Springfield. The complex covers an entire city block.
City officials have long had concerns about safety at the abandoned complex. It caught fire in 1999, and again in 2011 before Harry Denune, the building’s owner since 1972, sold it to Mosier in 2011 for $1.5 million. Bricks also fell from the building in 2009, sparking additional enforcement action from the city.
Once the demolition project is complete, an L-shaped row of buildings and an open courtyard will remain at the complex, Reidy said. Mosier is currently seeking possible tenants who might be able to redevelop the remaining buildings.
“The entire complex has been for sale for more than a year, and we’re going to continue to do the work we’ve agreed to do and position the property for sale or other redevelopment,” Reidy said.
The company will need to submit a redevelopment plan by next summer for the remaining buildings, Strozdas said, although the city could ask the court to move that process forward if needed.
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