A Covington city board cautiously granted approval to tear down an historic residence in Mainstrasse Village.
Owner Drew Hauck hopes to raze the duplex at 249-251 West Seventh Street, which he says is collapsing. He has owned it alone since 2003 but was part of a company that first purchased the property in 1995.
Twenty years later, he said Monday at the urban design review board meeting, the building is uninhabitable.Â
“I had a structural engineer come out, draw up plans to fix the (collapsing western) side wall but the other side is doing the same thing because of the damage from the fire,” Hauck said. A massive fire heavily damaged the building in 1983. “I didn’t realize we had that kind of damage from the fire.”
Hauck listed the property for sale nine months ago at $19,000 but said that he had not gotten any offers for the building. Instead, he said, there is an unofficial offer for the property contingent upon the building’s demolition.
“The price that I feel it would take me to get this building back into shape far exceeds what is reasonable for me to get back,” he said. The offer comes from an individual who would build a new home on the site and live in it.Â
Neighbor Melvin Frisch expressed concern about the demolition, but supports it.Â
“One of my concerns with the demolition is, I am worried about possible damage to my house,” Frisch told the board. “There is a retaining wall along the fence, partially collapsing, and it’s pushing my fence a little bit. I agree (the building) should come down. It is an eyesore in the neighborhood.”
Hauck, when questioned, said that he did not allow the building to fall into disrepair for the purpose of being permitted to raze it. Members of the board expressed reservations about allowing the demolition based on an unofficial offer.
“He is a personal friend and seems to be fairly interested in it,” Hauck said of the potential buyer. “If he doesn’t follow through, I’d give it back to the bank and wash my hands of it. I’m going to lose money on this one way or another.”
The UDRB unanimously approved the demolition plan.
-Michael Monks, editor & publisher of The River City News
Photo: 249-251 West 7th Street (via Kenton Co. PVA)
