Derelict former Howard Johnson being demolished

Jan. 30--A West Main Street property that began life as a Howard Johnson restaurant in the early 1950s is scheduled for demolition.

The property at 2720-2722 W. Main St. -- which includes 11 other structures, many of which were once motel rooms -- has been many restaurants over time, including the Wayside Diner, West Main Country Kitchen, 3rd Planet, Manchester Square, The Other Place and, most recently, 29 Diner.

City records show the most recent property transfer took place in 2011, when Passport LLC, of Fairfax, purchased it for $300,000.

But the buildings sat empty and in 2013 the city condemned the dilapidated buildings and proceeded with the legal process necessary to carry thought the demolition.

Bids for abating the asbestos and demolition went out earlier this month, and bids were returned this week, they ranged from $57,576 to $185,360, according to Gary Via, the city's purchasing director.

Via said though the award had not been officially made as of Wednesday, it will likely go to the low bidder, D.H. Griffin Wrecking Co., of Greensboro, N.C. -- the same company that demolished the Downtowner.

At a Danville City Council work session last week, Director of Inspections Jerry Rigney told council members demolition costs are assessed against the owner, who will have to square up with the city before it can sell or build on the property.

Rigney pointed out that the city could wind up with ownership of the property ultimately if the bill is not paid, but that is a lengthy legal process. In the meantime, however, a dangerous and unattractive property will be cleaned up, Rigney said.

At the same meeting, Public Works Director Rick Drazenovich gave council an update on demolition progress his department has been making.

Drazenovich said the department uses a three-man crew to take down residential properties that are not affected by asbestos or lead paint, with the larger or more difficult demolitions being bid out to contractors who can handle them.

But nine local contractors sent a petition to Danville City Council, objecting to the use of public works crews and asking to be allowed to bid on all demolitions, saying "the local economy would be much better enhanced by allowing tax paying contractors to perform all aspects of these demolition projects."

Drazenovich pointed out that average cost per square foot, even factoring in the cost for the crew and equipment, is about $1.96 when public works' crew are used, compared to an average of $5.53 per square foot when private contractors are used.

Councilman Fred Shanks questioned whether all of the city's costs for insurance and other overhead is included in the true cost of city-crew demolitions.

"This bothers me ... It's a slow economy and they're [contractors] are hurting," Shanks said. "Let's make sure we're comparing apples to apples."

Councilman John Gilstrap pointed out that public works' crews can handle about 100 demolitions a year, if they are not pulled of the project for another necessary task -- but said he understood the goal is to demolish 300 to 400 a year in order to catch up with the backlog.

Rigney said that, for now, public works is keeping up with the demolitions because required legal steps mean getting permission to demolish is a long process. Currently, he said, there are 10 buildings waiting for demolitions, with 75 more in the legal process.

In the end, council members asked City Manager Joe King to present a plan that would package groups of buildings that could go out for bids from private contractors, while still saving money by using city crews for the simpler jobs.

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