BUCKHANNON – Multiple demolitions in the City of Buckhannon are scheduled to occur concurrently at the end of September or beginning of October.
City Recorder Randy Sanders said there are seven city properties scheduled for razing during the Sept. 9 Create Buckhannon meeting.
“We’re going to be taking down an office building at the old Street Department on Factory Street; the salt bins at Factory Street, which we will repurpose; a portion of the garage on Factory Street and all the facility materials will be repurposed; and the old garage at 39 Sedgwick Street, which is part of a property the city purchased from a tax sale,” Sanders said. “We’re going to be taking down 65 East Main Street, which is the old Pythias building; and we’re going to be taking down the drive-thru building on Madison Street.”
Sanders said city officials plan to have the structures torn down around the same time, so the municipality doesn’t have to pay rental fees for the demolition equipment multiple times.
“We’re renting all the proper equipment to demolish everything at the same time, to make it all efficient, and everything that can be repurposed out of all of these items will be repurposed,” he said.
The city plans to work with the Buckhanon Fire Department to facilitate training fire rescue training exercises on the properties.
“There’s also going to be some efforts – joint efforts – so the fire department will utilize properties for training purposes a day or two before we demolish them, and everything that needs to be done — asbestos testing, for instance – will be done,” Sanders added.
The properties earmarked to be demolished include:
- 65 East Main Street – the former Knights of Pythias building the City of Buckhannon purchased from the fraternal organization earlier this year
- Old bank drive-thru on Madison Street – City of Buckhannon purchased from Citizens Bank of West Virginia in 2020
- 31 Upper Drive – a house the City of Buckhannon purchased at a tax sale
- Office building at the old Street Department headquarters on Factory Street
- Salt bins Factory Street which will be repurposed
- A portion of the former Street Department garage on Factory Street
- Old garage at 39 Sedgwick Street – City of Buckhannon purchased at a tax sale
In other downtown beautification news, Sanders said the Spring Street paving-and-sidewalks project is scheduled to wrap up in November.
“They were into the last section of storm drain replacements, so they will be wrapping the storm drain replacements on Spring Street pretty soon, so we should start seeing that being put back together,” Sanders said. “By the first of November, the sidewalks should be replaced, and we should be paving Spring Street.”
And in preparation for fall and winter, city horticulturist Dixie Green and her crew having been taking down many of the flower arrangements, Sanders said.
“Dixie Green has been out removing most of our flowers and preparing the beds for fall and winter,” he said, “and you’ll see the big corner planters being removed next week, taken back into the garages, cleaned, sanitized, and then she’ll start planting bulbs and so forth for 2022.”
