There's a battle brewing in downtown Findlay over a couple of vacant downtown buildings set to be demolished.
Jim Heck knows about redevelopment in downtown Findlay. He works downtown and has remodeled a number of local buildings and now has his sights set on a few more.
"Our downtown is very vibrant and we need these buildings to reintroduce the private sector so we can have space for enough people to start businesses and occupy," Heck, who owns Heck Rentals, said.
The state just gave the final okay to demolish those buildings, which are located in the 300 block of S. Main St. They were damaged in the 2007 floods and the county says it's just too expensive to fix them. Commissioners say they've already given Heck and the Downtown Findlay Improvement District a chance to save the buildings.
"We asked for a minimum bid of $377,000 for sealed bids twice, they offered us $150,000 which we rejected which had a lot of contingencies with that," Emily Walton, Hancock County Commissioner, said.
Heck says the county wants too much money for the property and says he and the Downtown Findlay Improvement District already has investors lined up to turn the buildings into work-live spaces.
"These buildings are not damaged anywhere near what the commissioners say they are and we think we can save them and reintroduce them to the private sector," Heck said.
Heck is confident his group will save the buildings, but if the county moves forward with the demolition project, they'll turn the area into green space for public gathers.
Watson didn't say exactly when they'll move forward with the demolition, but hopes to start as soon as possible.
