'Eyesore' former school building a growing concern for Canton Township
CANTON TWP. – The building once known as North Industry Elementary School is the subject of a brewing action plan on the part of township officials.
"It is in a very bad state of being," township Zoning Inspector Michael Hanshaw said. "It has been vacant for about 20 years. It is really an eyesore. It is just falling apart."
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Township trustees recently met with an attorney on the Stark County Prosecutor's Office staff to review options regarding what to do about the structure in the 4800 block of Wiseland Avenue SE.
"Everybody is trying to push this thing uphill," township Trustee Christopher Nichols said. "It is all kinds of terrible for that neighborhood. It is absolutely a detriment. It is a horrible thing to have in that neighborhood."
The building is owned by Cleveland resident Xiang Wu. Township officials have not been able to contact Wu to express their concerns. A telephone number township officials have for Wu is not functioning.
"That number is not getting us anywhere," township Trustee Mark Shaffer said. "I tried to call there. I have been getting an interceptor message that says this is not an active number. It seems we have a ghost. There is no contact information that works."
North Industry School history
Many of the windows in the three-level building are boarded-up. However, some on the top level are broken. Township officials say there is mold inside.
The appraised value of the building dropped precipitously over the past decade, according to the Stark County Treasurer's Office. In 2011, the appraised value stood at $521,300. Currently it is $67,800.
The building started out as a high school in the early 1920s. It became an elementary school in the early 1930s when Canton South High School opened.
Canton Local Board of Education pulled its elementary education program out of the building in 1984.
The building eventually was acquired by Full Gospel Lighthouse Ministries. The next owner sold Wu the building in 2017 for $6,000.
"He was going to use it as a warehouse," Hanshaw said. "But he just walked away from it. We haven't been able to reach him for a year now. I don't think it is remotely worth saving. Up until last fall it was for sale. He tried to sell it, but he couldn't get any takers."
The building could go up for an auditor's or foreclosure sale because Wu is delinquent on the real estate taxes. But if no one buys the structure, it will remain in Wu's name, according to the County Treasurer's Office.
Township officials "can ask the county treasurer to foreclose," said Gerard Yost, the attorney on the Stark County Prosecutor's Office staff working with township trustees. "The other option is they could declare it a nuisance. You have to give the owner notice and give him an opportunity to clean it up. They are looking at all their options. It is only going to get worse."
Township officials are looking at the possibility of using their American Rescue Plan Act allotment to raze the structure.
"Ultimately, what we would like to do is get it torn down," Nichols said. "We would have to get title to it first. We can't tear it down while he owns it. You are talking about potentially $100,000 to tear it down and abate the asbestos. Maybe we have some other financial means where the township doesn't have to invest all that money."
Reach Malcolm at 330-580-8305
or malcolm.hall@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: mhallREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Former North Industry Elementary School concerns township officials
