Board votes to condemn vacant building at 1119 South Scatterfield Road

The Board of Public Safety voted on May 11 to condemn the vacant building at 1119 South Scatterfield Road after staff reported a structural failure while the building was being boarded up.

A staff member told the board that a south wall fell out while contractors were boarding up the former Taco Bell and asked the board to condemn the property. "We went to board up a section of the building, and ... the whole wall, south wall fell, I guess, fell out," the staff member said. A committee member moved to condemn the property; the motion was seconded and the board voted yes.

Staff said homeless people had been breaking windows and staying inside the structure and that the listed owner was ‘‘MIA.’’ The staff member said the owner owes "over 1000000 dollars in judgments" and that a lien would likely be placed on the property. The transcript contains no additional documentation of the judgments; staff comment was presented as the basis for administrative action.

The condemnation is an administrative action to secure public safety; the board did not discuss formal demolition timelines at the meeting. Staff indicated further enforcement steps, including lien placement, are likely.