LIMA, OH (WLIO) - A long-time eyesore on Lima's east side is coming down, with the hopes that the property can be turned into an asset for the future.
Demolition of the EDCO Tool and Supply building on East Kibby Street began Monday afternoon. Ohio awarded $860,000 to Allen County Port Authority to tear down the remaining buildings at the site to make the land useable for redevelopment. The nearly 13-acre site has had a variety of uses since it was built around 80 years ago and there have been numerous attempts to clean the property. The heat of the 2021 fire made several parts of the building collapse. Now the property will go from blight to a place with a bright future.
"The possibilities for what this site can be are really endless, and you know, our job and working with our economic development partners is to make sure that we are ready for development and so this will go a long way to attract new companies into Lima," stated Mayor Sharetta Smith, City of Lima.
"The big push in the state right now is to make properties shovel ready," adds Mike Coonfare, Senior Project Manager at Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc. "So, a lot of developers, there needs to be a site that is ready to suit their needs."
The property should be shovel-ready and ready for a new owner for redevelopment in early July.
