25 - HPC Resolution - Belford Apartments Foreclosure

Home Browse Search

hein No. 25 TO: Mayor & City Council John Godwin, City Manager FROM: Carla Easton, City Engineer SUBJECT: HPC Resolution - Belford Apartments Foreclosure DATE: December 4, 2017 BACKGROUND: The Belford Apartment Building located at 260 South Main Street, is structurally unsound and was first identified by the Paris Code Enforcement Department as a dilapidated structure in 2010. The Buildings and Standards Commission (BSC) placed its first order on the property in September of 2010, and subsequent orders were placed in attempts to force the owner to secure and repair the building. A timeline of the BSC action is attached to this agenda packet for reference, noted as Exhibit A. After a delay of approximately 18 months occasioned by uncertainty related to the Texas Supreme Court's opinion in the City qf'Dallas v. Stewart case, the City hired a structural engineer in June 2012 to assess the stability of the structure and provide a professional opinion on whether the building presents safety cancer is to the public. The engineering report identified multiple deficiencies in the structure that render it unsafe, including severe deterioration of the building framing. The full report from Dietz Engineers, LLC is attached to this agenda packet as Exhibit B. Following the engineering report, the BSC i -net again in August 2012 and ordered the dernolition of the building within 90 days, after which time the City has the night to dernolish and apply civil penalties to the property. 'The City has not acted on the dernolition order due to the cost of the dernolition. Civil penalties have accrued to the sum of $2,021,800.00, and continue to accrue at $1,100 per day. Minutes for the BSC and HP,C meetings are attached for reference, noted as Exhibit C. In October and November of 20.1.6, City Staff and Council Member Lancaster met with the owner in an effort to help him by recommending that the City Council reduce or waive all penalties, should lie be able to sell the property to genuine buyer. No further progress has been made on the dernolition or repairs to the property.