“The city did not receive any proposals for the former Taylor School property,” said Lauren Gersbach, business development specialist for the city.
That may prompt the city to recommend that Butler County’s land bank lift its hold on the proposed demolition of the building.
“People feel very strongly on both sides of that argument,” Gersbach said. “Some people want to save it. From all the conversations the city’s been having with PROTOCOL (People Reaching Out To Others; Celebrate Our Lindenwald) and things, there’s definitely some Lindenwald residents and others that really want to save it, and there’s equally as many people that really want to see it come down.”
The people who favor demolition include “especially those that probably live within sight of it and have been looking at it for a lot of years,” she said.
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The city did show the property to one potential developer, but he did not contact officials afterward, Gersbacn said.
The land bank board met Monday, but took no action on the matter. Land bank Executive Director Kathy Dudley said her organization was waiting to hear from the city.
The building was donated to the city, and Hamilton requested the land bank’s help in razing it. Complaints against the property, 40 of them, have included tall grass and weeds, the building being unsecured, repairs needed to the exterior, graffiti, junk vehicles on the property and other problems. The building also would need asbestos removal
Denise Callahan contributed.
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