Valparaiso makes offer on building it aims to demolish

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VALPARAISO — The extension of the downtown Central Park Plaza advanced Wednesday as the Valparaiso Redevelopment Commission took steps to buy the old family service building and demolish it.

The city has offered $885,000 for the building, but there are still steps to go until the building at 152 Indiana Ave. is gone, replaced by an open air pavilion at the intersection of Indiana and Lafayette Street. The city will also get the parking lots west of the building at 154 and 156 Indiana for the price, and those need to be tested for contamination.

The Redevelopment Commission voted to hire Amereco Engineering of Valparaiso to both test the half block of property and oversee removal of asbestos from the site. That will cost $23,200.

John Blosky of Amereco said that the whole process should be done by April, with grass seed in place by then. At the latest, it would be mid-May, Blosky said.

He also recommended hiring Brandenburg Industrial of Chicago to demolish the building and take care of the asbestos.

Out of 11 companies contacted, Brandenburg’s combined total for both projects was lowest at $127,930.

Amereco also had a map of the area showing where there used to be a printing business and laundry business on one area of the site and two auto repairs sites on other areas.

Amereco will drill eight to 12 borings to check for soil contamination.

Attorney Patrick Lyp said the trust that owns the building has agreed to the city’s purchase offer, but it still needs to get approval from the bank holding the mortgage and the bankruptcy court.

Lyp thinks it will happen but take about 30 days, so the city could have the building in 30 to 45 days.

Also at the meeting, Summers announced that the Redevelopment Commission will again offer grants to the two schools in its area.

However, for this second year, Valparaiso Community Schools and the Washington Township Schools are eligible to receive $100,000 apiece rather than $75,000.

The grant is designed to pay for programs that will prepare students for work despite an unpredictable economy and technological future.

The Redevelopment Commission uses Tax Increment Financing areas to fund improvements on areas, but for a limited time, the school districts don’t see any of the increased tax money from those areas.