Demolition of old Co-Op building under way this week
Posted Jul 22, 2010 By Theresa Fritz
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EMC News - A long-time eyesore in Carp will be gone shortly.
Theresa Fritz, West Carleton Emc
Demolition of the old Co-Op building on Rivington Street in Carp was to begin this week. The building has been abandoned since 2003.
Demolition began this week on the former Agri West Co-Op building at 135 Rivington St. Demolition was expected to take anywhere from seven to 10 days.
"We have no choice," Ward 5 West Carleton-March councillor Eli El-Chantiry said of the building's demolition. "We tried to sell it for tax recovery and it didn't go."
The business closed its doors in 2003 and has been abandoned ever since. Unfortunately, the building has fallen into a state of disrepair and is also a magnet for mischief. Attempts to contact the owner and recover the back taxes - said to be well over $100,000 - were unsuccessful.
"We (city) have a policy. If the taxes are owed on something, they have to be covered before it (property) is released for sale," El-Chantiry explained. "We tried to sell it and it didn't go and then we started getting calls from fire and police and residents."
Problems reported included everything from vandalism to a fire set inside the building.
"We had to do something and we have no choice but to tear the building down," he stated.
Once the building is down, the next step will involve looking at what to do with the property. Among the city's options are selling it or looking at other uses.
"People have called with some good ideas, saying 'please don't sell it'. We can use it for Park and Ride, it is in the centre of the village, we can use it if the train (through the work of Transport Pontiac-Renfrew) comes from Arnprior," El-Chantiry explained.
"There are a lot of good ideas out there but right now, what is in front of us is health and safety and to get it down. Then we will see what can be done about the site."
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