LIMA — An elementary school built 56 years ago is coming down.
Emerson Elementary School, located north of Schoonover Park on East Edwards Street, is in the process of being demolished, with work beginning Tuesday.
According to Lima schools Plant Operations Supervisor Randy Crossley, the demolition is the culmination of a lengthy process that came with a total price tag of almost $260,000 for the district, including demolition, asbestos abatement and an environmental assessment.
“We had to do a complete environmental assessment, and all of those findings from that assessment had to be remediated prior to the demolition,” he said. “We had some old lab chemicals and so forth from other schools, including old specimens and things like that. We also had some paints that were left in the building, and all of those were dealt with properly.”
The school was first built in 1951 and had been renovated in 1968. Emerson students were combined with students from the former Irving Elementary School when Independence Elementary opened on Irving’s former site on North Metcalf Street in 2004. The school was formally shut down in 2011, where it had been used for storage for the district. Items stored at Emerson have been moved to other schools and to the former educational center building on Calumet Avenue, according to Crossley.
“When a facility’s not occupied, it’s hard to keep it up to the standards of the community,” he said. “Even though you try, you’re not there every day to see what has occurred.”
Crossley also said that, for now, the site will be maintained as a green space, with the site ready for grass seed within the next 30 days. Any decisions to either sell the property or build a new structure on it will be made “above my level,” he said.
One person happy to see the structure come down is 3rd Ward Councilman Jesse Lowe II, who had taken issue with piles of debris being stored behind the building.
“This is a great day in the 3rd Ward,” he said. “Many of the residents in the northeast corner of the ward have been asking for this building to come down for a long time. I want to thank Lima City Schools for their efforts in getting this building down and 3rd Ward residents for being so patient. Now we can work on development of this land and create an even better neighborhood.”
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
