Augusta may declare 2 homes, commercial garage ‘dangerous’
Properties on Mount Vernon Avenue and South Grove Street, have problems including missing sections of roof.
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A building at 57 South Grove St. on Thursday in Augusta. A section of roof near the door has collapsed. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
AUGUSTA City councilors expressed support for a staff recommendation that three vacant, run-down buildings should be deemed dangerous buildings, potentially clearing the way for the city to have them demolished.
The properties are a former commercial garage at 195 Mount Vernon Ave., and residential homes at 57 South Grove St. and 7 South Grove St.
“With each of these, we’ve given the owners time, in some cases years, to make improvements and nothing has happened,” Robert Overton, director of code enforcement, told city councilors Thursday.
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The property at 195 Mount Vernon Ave. on Thursday in Augusta. The front wall and part of the roof were removed before demolition halted.
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By Elizabeth Hopkirk2021-02-11T07:00:00+00:00
Former RIBA president accuses government of offering ‘second-rate loans’ to people in dangerous buildings
The government has been warned the building safety measures it announced yesterday could have a string of unintended consequences.
A tax on developers could inhibit new schemes and push up property prices, while the Building Safety Fund application process is so complex it is deterring building owners who urgently want to improve safety for their residents, said Katherine Metcalfe, legal director at law firm Pinsent Masons.
There was also widespread anger at how many people were left out of the Robert Jenrick’s package of support which will see the government forward-fund the cost of cladding repairs alone, and only for buildings over 18m.
The government’s announcement of extra funding for cladding remediation and a tax on “large developers” in England has brought criticism from leaseholders