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City reports accelerating demolitions under Dayton Recovery Plan, officials urge faster work on long‑standing blight
Summary
City planning staff said demolition activity accelerated in April, removing 20 structures and raising the year‑to‑date total to 82; commissioners pressed staff to prioritize long‑standing sites such as 300 Fernwood and other heavily complained‑about properties.
Steve Bridal, director of planning, neighborhoods and development, told the Dayton City Commission that demolition activity under the Dayton Recovery Plan increased in April, with 20 structures removed and 82 removed so far in 2025.
The update matters because commissioners have emphasized removing long‑standing blight in neighborhoods. Bridal said the April removals included 13 under the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) contract, four paid from ARPA and three from the general fund, and that the city is removing properties faster than it is adding them to the nuisance list.
“Last month in April we saw 20 structures removed, 13 of those were from ODOD, 4 under ARPA and 3 on general fund,” Bridal said. He described several large multi‑day projects completed in April, including a former playground at Ferguson Park near Dayton Leadership Academy, an abandoned commercial structure on Negley and two former church properties on Salem Avenue that the city says are now cleared and ready for future opportunities such as multifamily or senior housing as reflected in adopted plans.
Commissioner Charles Laws thanked Bridal and staff but pressed for faster work on specific long‑standing problem properties. “I know we have received a number of complaints… 300 Fernwood, 1310 West Fairview are concerns,” Laws said, urging staff to treat those removals with urgency.
Bridal and other staff described operational constraints that limit switching crews between routine demolition work and fire‑damaged “pile” removals. Bridal said vendors organize crews and subcontractors to run routine demos in batches, and that switching to fire‑pile removals requires lining up different vendors and suppliers, which can delay one‑off work.
Staff said the city often waits for fire and insurance investigations to conclude before moving forward on privately insured fire losses and that escrow proceeds from insurers commonly determine timing. Bridal described one property where staff worked with a deceased owner’s son and provided vendor referrals; he said staff was told the owner was under contract with a vendor as of the prior week.
Commissioners directed staff to prioritize a set of addresses and asked staff to provide updates in mid‑July or August on specific sites. Bridal said the city will attempt to sequence remaining ARPA and ODOD work to address urgent individual cases when possible.
