The Charleston Urban Renewal Authority approved the demolition of a commercial building it owns on the West Side that's become a safety concern.
The board voted at its meeting on Wednesday to award a contract to Astech Corporation, which will demolish the buildings at 1601, 1603 and 1605 Washington St. West.
The trio of connected buildings were the home of Lacy and Short Furniture until 1993.
Since CURA purchased the buildings two years ago for $84,000, parts of the roof have collapsed, causing severe water damage to the interior.
During the board's April meeting, Thom Worlledge of McKinley & Associates reported that the water damage was so severe that it had compromised supporting walls.
Worlledge recommended demolition as the most cost efficient action, according to meeting minutes.
Astech submitted the lowest bid of $153,320, which also includes regrading the lot once the buildings are razed.
Despite the safety issues, board members were unsure whether to approve the demolition bid without waiting for an interested buyer to come along first.
"It's not my priority at the moment, but I don't know what else to do with it," CURA member Karen Haddad said. "Could we not [spend] the money until we find someone who might be interested in that location, and explain that we'll tear it down?"
Edwards responded that the structure has deteriorated to the point that it's a liability due to a wall that's being pushed out toward Washington Street.
"As the roof is collapsing, it's pushing that wall out toward the street. There's concern it could fall," he said.
The board then voted unanimously to approve the bid.
CURA also recommended approval for a draft of its new renewal plans for downtown Charleston, the near West Side and the East End warehouse district. Those plans haven't been updated since 1985.
The draft goes before the city's Municipal Planning Commission, which will determine whether it's consistent with the city's comprehensive plan.
Also on Wednesday, CURA:
n Approved changes made to its loan policy, which increases its potential loan commitment from 20 percent of cash assets to 30 percent and limits loans to a maximum of 10 years.
The amendments increase a single borrower's limit from 10 percent of CURA's cash or $500,000 to 15 percent or $750,000, whichever is less.
It also requires guarantors for loans, but Edwards said there would be "some flexibility about personal guarantors."
The board agreed to make changes to its loan policy after it worked out an agreement with McKinley Properties to purchase and develop 170 Summers St.
"We realized that was enough of a priority project to agree to loan more than our policy would allow," Edwards said. "So we amended our policy to fit that decision."
n Discussed a home at 103 Hunt Ave., which CURA purchased recently at the request of Mike Shinn, of Hands On WV, a volunteer group that pledged to help renovate a home purchased by the board.
CURA bought the house for about $25,000. Edwards announced that an officer with the Charleston Police Department plans to purchase the home through Project West Invest, an initiative funded by CURA and the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation that awards police officers a $50,000 loan to buy and renovate a house within West Side renewal areas with a 10-year commitment.
n Received an update from city Building Commissioner Tony Harmon on the department's vacant building registry. Harmon said since the registry was begun about two years ago, 115 of the roughly 500 vacant structures have been removed from the list through demolition, renovations and selling the properties.
n Received an update from Charleston Main Streets Program Directors on the progress the organization has made since the respective West Side and East End Main Streets programs were combined under the citywide organization last year.
Reach Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.