AMERICAN TOWNSHIP, OH (WLIO) - It once was a busy service station with cars lining up to get the cheapest gas in town but has since become a boarded-up eyesore.
The Swifty gas station on Elida Road came down Tuesday.
The Swifty gas station on Elida Road came down Tuesday. American Township put a demolition order on the structure. For the first time, the Allen County Land Bank is working under a township demo order to remove the structure and hopefully get the site ready for development in the future. The property is currently in the foreclosure process, and it has taken some time to get to demo day, which is making a difference.
"The community does not deserve to look at this blight that is occurring on this road every day and standing in the road of further development. So this way we're able to help the community and hopefully speed up a foreclosure process along the way," said Rachael Gilroy, Allen County Auditor and Allen County Land Bank.
The property is currently in the foreclosure process, and it has taken some time to get to demo day, which is making a difference.
Gilroy says the inside of the building was falling down, vagrants were living inside the building, and that it was unsafe all the way around. She hopes that the land bank will be able to get control of the parcel and do environmental studies to make sure the land is safe for development.
You can learn more about the Allen County Land Bank by visiting their website at https://allencountyohauditor.com/ac-land-bank/.
