The city has demolished a vacant convenience store and gas station on Second Street.
Redevelopment director Heather Pope said that the city purchased the property, located at 867 Second St., from Ricker’s Holdings LLC in March for $340,000.
Prior to demolition, the city had to remove 10 underground storage tanks — ranging from 6,000 to 20,000 gallons — from the site. This was done using funds provided by the Petroleum Orphan Sites Initiative. Pope said that the Petroleum Orphan Sites Initiative, which was established by the Indiana Brownfields Program, funded the total cost of tank removal.
However, the Petroleum Orphan Sites Initiative did not fund the demolition of the convenience store, which was torn down by the Columbus Department of Public Works this week. Pope said that the department of public works workers are also leveling the site.
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“The redevelopment commission doesn’t have any immediate plans for the property but just wanted to clean it up and hold on to it until, at some point in the future, we may need it,” she said.
While Pope said she didn’t want to forecast future uses for the location, she said that any development would likely be “commercial,” as that’s what the property is zoned for.
She also noted that the deteriorating convenience store building was a blight in the downtown area.
The project to demolish the structure is an example of what a redevelopment department does, cleaning up a “blighted” property so new development may occur.
The convenience store structure had been vacant for a number of years, leading for the need for demolition, she said.
