This house at 75 S. Columbus St. in Sunbury is slated for demolition.
Gary Budzak | The Gazette
This house at 63 S. Columbus St. in Sunbury is slated for demolition.
Gary Budzak | The Gazette
SUNBURY — Neighboring houses are going to be torn down to make way for new city facilities.
The houses are at 63 and 75 S. Columbus St., within view of the Sunbury Municipal Building, 9 E. Granville St.
The City of Sunbury website posted last week a bid request for the South Columbus Street Demolition Project, which is grant funded.
The project “consists of demolition of two residential buildings, including disposal, backfill, and compaction and site restoration (grading and seeding including straw),” the post said.
A contractor walk-through and prebid meeting will be held onsite at the houses at 11 a.m. Jan. 26. The base bid cost estimate is $71,000. Bids will be received until noon Feb. 10.
“This project is funded by the State of Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program,” the city said. “Bidder’s attention is called to all of the requirements contained in this bid packet, particularly to state labor standards provisions, state prevailing wages, various insurance requirements, and various equal employment opportunity provisions.”
The demo specs said, “The Project will be substantially complete within 60 calendar days of Owner’s issuance of Notice to Proceed.”
The forms also went over the properties, which are currently owned by the City of Sunbury.
“The buildings were most recently used as a single family and a duplexed residence,” the forms said. “One of the buildings dates to the early 1800’s the other is early 1900’s. Both are wood frame construction; one was undergoing renovation and the plaster walls have been removed. Both buildings have been vacant since approximately 2020.”
Both buildings are about the same size, are both two-story, and both have partial basements and single-story rear extensions. The city abated all asbestos-containing material in both buildings in February 2021.
An adjacent garage is not within the scope of the project, the city said. Also, the city said it wishes to preserve the trees on the property, “especially the large tree at the rear of 63. S. Columbus.”
