Scott Williams, swilliams@wolfrivermedia.com
Demolition could get started this summer on a downtown Bonduel building after the property owner missed a village deadline for completing repairs.
Village Board members have agreed to begin soliciting estimates on the cost of razing the vacant commercial-residential building at 101 E. Green Bay St.
The village had given owner Keith Block until approximately late May to fix a leaky roof, crumbling walls, moldy basement and other problems.
Village President Sharon Wussow said the landlord failed to comply with the order and has been unresponsive to attempts at addressing the building’s troubles. Wussow said village officials are concerned that the two-story building has become a public safety hazard.
“The safety comes first,” she said. “Who knows when that building could come down and do some damage?”
Contacted by telephone, Block said repairs inside the building have been started. Block said he hopes to get the property repaired and then find a buyer. He would not comment further, saying he wanted instead to communicate with village officials.
“I would much prefer to deal with them,” he said.
Asked how he would respond to village demolition efforts, he said: “I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
Located in the heart of downtown at the intersection of Green Bay Street and Cecil Street, the property once housed an ice cream shop, a sporting goods store and other attractions. The upstairs includes several apartments that have long since been vacated.
Block, who lives in Wrightstown, also owns the Wisconsin House Inn hotel in Shawano and has similarly battled with city leaders over that property.
After trying for months to persuade Block to address the troubled Bonduel property, village leaders in March issued the property owner an order to complete repairs or raze the building within 60 days. Officials said the deadline passed without any response from Block.
If the village now demolishes the property, it would be at public expense and could result in the village placing a lien on the property to recoup its costs.
The Village Board is scheduled to meet on June 21 to review the first initial estimate on demolition costs.
Depending on costs and other factors, Wussow said, demolition could conceivably take place as soon as this summer or fall.
Village Board member Luka Zischka called the building an eyesore and a safety hazard, saying that the move to gather demolition estimates is “proactive but precautionary.”
Acknowledging the need for extensive repairs, Zischka said he wishes there was a way to avoid demolition and to restore the property and make it useful again. But he agreed that such an outcome would seem unlikely without the property owner’s cooperation.
“I’d love the building to stay there,” he said. “I would like to do anything I could to keep the building intact.”