The owner of a long-empty Downtown office building in Columbus is seeking to demolish the building after it was hit twice by a vehicle, most recently in May.
The owner, Lawyers Development Corp., is asking the Columbus Downtown Commission for permission to demolish the five-story building at 350 E. Broad St., three years after the commission rejected a similar request.
This time, things are different, argued Robert Meyers, managing partner of Lawyers Development Corp.
Meyers wrote in a July 18 letter to the commission that the building was significantly damaged on May 22 when a vehicle crashed into its southwest corner at on East Broad Street and Grant Avenue, part of a rash of car-building crashes this year in Columbus.
The damage was so severe, Meyers noted, that the city’s Department of Building and Zoning Services issued a Notice of Unsafe Building on the structure the day after the crash. Inspectors said the crash damaged structural elements, “including the exterior foundation/retaining wall.”
Inspectors ordered owners to either repair the damage or demolish the building, which was built in 1950 and renovated in 1986. The structure has been empty for years.
In addition to the crash damage itself, Meyers said intruders within days stripped the building of its copper, “further decreasing its value.”
“We also continually struggle to keep vagrants from littering and sleeping in the rear entranceway,” Meyers wrote. “In short, we believe the City of Columbus and adjoining properties would be better served by the building’s demolition.”
Meyers said owners “would move to demolish the structure in due haste” if the demolition permit is granted.
If the building and its 12-space parking lot are removed, owners say they will seed the lot with grass to expand the adjacent pocket park, which is what they also proposed in December 2021.
Lawyers Development Corp. acquired the building for $575,000 in 2016, but has been unsuccessful in redeveloping the property. A year after buying it, the owners proposed replacing the building with a six-story apartment building aimed at Columbus College of Art & Design students.
“Since acquiring the property in 2016, ownership has explored various renovation scenarios, ultimately determining that the existing building itself hinders the successful redevelopment of the site,” the owners wrote the city in 2022.
“This building essentially is an obsolete shell, presenting a number of challenges. Furthermore, it fails to capture the site’s potential for greater density in a prominent gateway location at the intersection of Broad Street and Grant Avenue.”
The 30,520-square-foot building is listed for sale without a price.
Real estate and Development Reporter Jim Weiker can be reached at jweiker@dispatch.com and at 614-284-3697. Follow him @JimWeiker
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Second car crash into downtown Columbus building prompts owner to again seek demolition
Reporting by Jim Weiker, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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