Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
ANGELO LUPPINO Construction begins demolishing the structure at 206 S. Sophie Street in Bessemer on Monday after years of effort by the city to remove the blighted structure.
By IAN MINIELLY
Bessemer - Residents of Bessemer are going to wake up today to the nearly complete removal of a blighted structure on South Sophie Street. The structure at 206 S. Sophie Street has been before the council for years and finally was slotted for removal Monday. Paul Luppino, son of Angelo Luppino, said they expected to have everything gone by today and use Wednesday to fill in the remaining hole.
Luppino said the tear down was basically a two man job. workers removed the asbestos in the structure first and then began tearing the building down with an excavator and Bobcat Monday. The troublesome deck that was much-discussed in city council meetings was no problem at all. The excavator ripped it right down and the Bobcat pushed it out of the way.
When asked if they ever found treasure in their demolishing of old structures, Luppino said, "No treasure, not much of value in them at all."
A large steel "I" beam was seen being placed in a dumpster and Luppino said they recycle what they can, but there is no much to recycle.
City Manager Charly Loper said the city is looking to adopt a new blight ordinance at the next city council meeting on May 15. When asked if this will speed up the removal of more blighted structures, Loper said there is very little funding available for blight removal. John Frello, member of the city council, said the primary hurdle is funding.
It takes money to tear down old structures and there is not an expected return financially. The aesthetic appeal improves the area and the safety to residents improves, but according to Frello it takes a lot of money to remove those buildings and with the old bakery next door, they had to be careful as it is in very good shape and ready for purchase if a buyer comes along.
Loper said the city already owns 160 acres and is looking to sell off the properties. The city owns most of the vacant lots in the downtown area and a large chunk of marshland in the industrial area. For people interested in buying the property from the city, Loper has a map in her office with the vacant spots marked. Upon interest, the assessor will assign a value to the property and the city will make an offer based off that assessment.
