Bringing the hammer down

[EricP]

[V]

[Townsend]

Does the building owner know he's being fined?

[Renaissance]

City needs to proceed with condemnation, and get some strong chains and padlocks on the doors to prevent further vandalism and decay.

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by Townsend

Does the building owner know he's being fined?

probably now he does.

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by inteller

quote:Originally posted by Townsend

Does the building owner know he's being fined?

probably now he does.

Yeah, if he happens to stop by Mailboxes, etc.

[Townsend]

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

quote:Originally posted by inteller

quote:Originally posted by Townsend

Does the building owner know he's being fined?

probably now he does.

Yeah, if he happens to stop by Mailboxes, etc.

That's the thing.  I'm interested to know if he's reponded to the notification(s) like the owner of the abundent life fortress of solitude.

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by Townsend

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

quote:Originally posted by inteller

quote:Originally posted by Townsend

Does the building owner know he's being fined?

probably now he does.

Yeah, if he happens to stop by Mailboxes, etc.

That's the thing.  I'm interested to know if he's reponded to the notification(s) like the owner of the abundent life fortress of solitude.

hey, how is the fortress of solitude doing?

[Townsend]

quote:Originally posted by inteller

quote:Originally posted by Townsend

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

quote:Originally posted by inteller

quote:Originally posted by Townsend

Does the building owner know he's being fined?

probably now he does.

Yeah, if he happens to stop by Mailboxes, etc.

That's the thing.  I'm interested to know if he's reponded to the notification(s) like the owner of the abundent life fortress of solitude.

hey, how is the fortress of solitude doing?

I drove by a week or so ago and it looked like some of the trees weren't growing on the roof anymore.  Not sure if the owner did that or the ice storm.  

I was told all the owners of these sad buildings had to do was promise the city they would do something and the fines would stop.

Anyone know if that's true?

[Double A]

quote:Originally posted by rwarn17588

Seize it by eminent domain, citing nuisance laws, and turn it over to someone who actually wants to do something with it. The owner has a basic obligation to keep up his property, and he clearly isn't doing it.

I know a few folks loathe eminent domain, but I think many of them would be OK with it for historic preservation.

Even Senor Bates indicated he would support such a use of ED.

I am opposed to the use of eminent domain if it is used to acquire the building for anything other than a public use(public library, public school, etc). Turning it over to private developers would be a blatant abuse of eminent domain.

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by Townsend

quote:Originally posted by inteller

quote:Originally posted by Townsend

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

quote:Originally posted by inteller

quote:Originally posted by Townsend

Does the building owner know he's being fined?

probably now he does.

Yeah, if he happens to stop by Mailboxes, etc.

That's the thing.  I'm interested to know if he's reponded to the notification(s) like the owner of the abundent life fortress of solitude.

hey, how is the fortress of solitude doing?

I drove by a week or so ago and it looked like some of the trees weren't growing on the roof anymore.  Not sure if the owner did that or the ice storm.  

I was told all the owners of these sad buildings had to do was promise the city they would do something and the fines would stop.

Anyone know if that's true?

well if thats true it means those fines have no teeth.

[Townsend]

quote:Originally posted by inteller

well if thats true it means those fines have no teeth.

Only rumor so far.  I don't know how to find out.

[Townsend]

So if this is happening at a maintained building downtown, shouldn't someone be more attentive about an abandoned building?

http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=8011235



"Crews are working to repair an outside wall of a downtown Tulsa building Thursday.

Bricks began falling from near the top of the AT&T building at 5th and Detroit last week.  Thursday, crews were trying to repair the problem and replace what has already fallen.  

There is no word yet in what caused the bricks to start falling."



Anyone heard anything new about the Club building?  I drive by it all the time and it keeps pissing me off.

[we vs us]

The saga drags slowly onward.

quote: Mayor may be asked to act on Tulsa Club Building

City representatives will soon ask Mayor Kathy Taylor to take action against a downtown building owner deemed in violation of city codes and facing more than $134,000 in fines, officials said.

"Probably by the end of the month," said Harold Adair, abatement coordinator for the city's neighborhood inspections division.

Once the request for action is submitted, Taylor would decide whether to approve it.

If approved, it would lead to legal action against Carl J. Morony of California, the owner of the Tulsa Club Building, an 11-story building at Fifth Street and Cincinnati Avenue.

Ultimately, if Morony is summoned to court but fails to appear, his building could be sold at a sheriff's auction, said Kevin Cox, field supervisor with the Department of Working in Neighborhoods.

Lee Anne Ziegler, executive director of the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture, said the organization is interested in revitalizing the Tulsa Club Building.

"We want to find an adaptive use for the property," Ziegler said. "It's very
endangered and at-risk."

She said the organization has held monthly meetings about potential plans for the building. There's no end to how the organization could use the building, including archives and office space, she said.

"It's complicated, but it can be done," Ziegler said.

Morony has been fined $1,000 a day since August for failure to bring the building into compliance.

Under regulations that took effect in August, the city can impose fines of up to $1,000 a day until property owners bring a building up to code.

The Tulsa Club, which has been vacant for more than a decade, has fire, electrical and plumbing violations.

It also has safety and health code violations.

Though Morony owes the city more than $134,000 in fines, he only paid $125,000 for the building. City officials said allowing Morony to continue accumulating thousands in fines isn't their intent.

"All we want is for Morony to come and make the building safe," Adair said. "That's what he's failed to do."

City officials said they have attempted to contact Morony for months about revamping the building. A letter was sent Feb. 28 informing him that, at the time, he owed the city $92,000 in fines.

Meanwhile, David Horton, owner of the vacant Abundant Life Building, or "diamond" building at 1720 S. Boulder Ave., continues to work with city officials to develop a use. Horton has said he plans to revitalize the building into a mixture of retail, housing and office space.

Horton has also created a development team and recently met with city, state and federal officials about his plans for the building. He is scheduled to again meet with city officials on April 23, Cox said.

The Tulsa Club and Abundant Life buildings are two of 60 vacant buildings within and near the Inner Dispersal Loop that Tulsa targeted in 2007.

The effort is to rid the downtown area of vacant and substandard buildings.

[si_uk_lon_ok]

How high do the fines have to be before a debt recovery agency gets involved? If the fines get any higher the sale price of the property might not be enough to cover the fines.

I say seize the property now, auction it and give anything left over to the owner.

[PonderInc]

Glad to hear they will be taking action soon. I wonder how long the legal proceedings will take before it could be auctioned off?  The sooner it's up for auction, the sooner a real owner could purchase the building and DO something positive with it!