Long-troubled Shelby property clears path forward
By David Jacobs
Nobody passing by Main and Broadway needed to be told the building, which is the focus of a demolition and redevelopment project years in the making, had problems.
They’d been staring at them for years -- sections that collapsed during the 2007 flood, layers of unpaid taxes, and years of legal complications that blocked redevelopment.
“I hate that building,” Richland County Treasurer Bart Hamilton, chairman of the county land bank, said as demolition kicked off on May 5. “I can’t even tell you how much I hate it.”
In November 2024, more than $657,500 in state funding was secured for the “Broadway and Main“ project for the phase involving the demolition and environmental cleanup of the deteriorated building.
The demolition at Broadway and Main follows years under prior ownership of tax issues and legal barriers addressed through an initiative, backed by a public-private partnership between Richland County officials and local businessman Troy Baker.
Baker acquired the property and worked through state and federal tax liens that had frozen any attempt at progress.
“This building has been taxed delinquent,” Hamilton said. “I’ve had payment plan after payment plan. It was horrible. And then Troy came along.
"And if you want to talk about moving heaven and earth to make something happen, this place was all liened-up with state and federal tax lines," Hamilton recalled.
"Troy and his attorney did a lot of work with those liens to make his whole sale work," Hamilton said. "And if he wouldn’t have done that, I don’t know how this would ever happen other than me doing a foreclosure on it.”
Hamilton recalled being hesitant to do that.
"I thought, 'As bad as the owner was here, who were we going to get?' I didn’t know he (Baker) existed."
Hamilton recalled the longstanding efforts with Shelby economic director Jessica Gribben and city of Shelby project coordinator Joe Gies.
Flood damage in 2007 accelerated the deterioration of the building, which once housed an early 20th-century auto dealership.
In an interview, Gies recalled an event from nearly two decades ago at the site.
"In the 2007 flood, there was a big section of this here -- it all collapsed down,” he said, looking at the site 18 years later. “So they tore that part down, and then it just kept getting worse from there.”
"It was a big beam that went across there, and it just snapped right in half," Gies recalled. "It was all waterlogged."
On May 5, officials gathered not to mark the beginning of demolition -- that had already begun -- but to reflect on the work that made it possible. The crowd included local leaders and a state land bank executive.
"The demolition of this building is really just clearing the way for what can soon become redevelopment of this property,” said Shawn Carvin, executive director of the Ohio Land Bank Association and former director of the Trumbull County Land Bank.
“We have to clear this space out where infrastructure exists, where properties are primed to be redeveloped so that there’s a chance to see these communities come back," he said.
Carvin travels around and watches projects such as these take shape throughout Ohio.
"These projects do not just happen," he said. "They take time and coordination with people who are often angry at you."
"You're dealing with contractors who don't understand government contracts -- they just want the money," Carvin said. "You're dealing with residents who wanted it (torn) down yesterday. You're dealing with stakeholders who want things to be moved, cleared."
All of that takes time.
"This work is never fast," Carvin said. "It’s usually not pretty. But once it’s done, it’s done."
Carvin also credited longtime advocates for sustaining the effort, including the Richland land bank's Amy Hamrick and State Rep. Marilyn John, R-Shelby, a former Shelby mayor.
“Representative John -- she has been a huge advocate for land banks statewide,” Carvin said.
He shared a personal story that highlighted Rep. John’s involvement.
“She was one of the first meetings I had when I took this job two years ago,” he said. “She had me up in front of her committee within three months, presenting. I was horrified, but we got through it.”
The Ohio legislature continues to support these efforts, Carvin said.
“The House budget has been sent over to the Senate,” he said. “And this money continues to be funded in this year’s House budget. Hopefully that stays in there so that we can keep seeing work like this happen around the state.”
As the site was being cleared, it was prepared for future green space and new sidewalks, with longer-term redevelopment still to be determined.
Hamilton acknowledged the years of frustration many had felt.
"I want to apologize that this has taken so long for us to get here," he said. "But we’re here, and we’re going to get this done."
A CLOSER LOOK
Legacy meets renewal in Shelby (with videos)
Pride in Shelby, land purchase sparked redevelopment project
Photo gallery: Demolition project begins at Broadway and Main in Shelby
Reporter David Jacobs can be reached at davidjacobs@shelbynewsreporter.com
