Planning commission hears appeal of condemnation for Silver Avenue property; residents urge demolition

Golf Manor Village Planning Commission members held a public hearing April 14 on an appeal of a condemnation order for a deteriorated multifamily building on Silver Avenue, with the applicant asking the commission to allow rehabilitation while several residents urged demolition.

Paramount Holdings President Michael Keane asked the commission to overturn a March 5, 2025, condemnation letter and permit the company to continue a rehabilitation at the property identified in the application as 6055 Silver Avenue. "We respectfully request that the planning commission grant this appeal and allow Paramount Holdings to continue with the rehabilitation of 6055 Silver Avenue," Keane said, adding that Paramount had already hired a licensed general contractor, completed interior demo, filed permit applications with Hamilton County and submitted a structural assessment dated April 9, 2025.

The structural assessment submitted with the appeal states, in part, "no obvious or major interior wall cracks observed that would typically indicate foundation displacement," language Keane read aloud to commissioners as evidence the building is "structurally sound" and repairable.

Village code enforcement staff presented a contrasting history of the property and the block. The village circulated photographs and documentation dating back to 2022 showing repeated break-ins, unsecured doors and indoor health-and-safety issues. The village's enforcement representative, identified in the meeting as Mr. Putoff, said the village issued a violation notice on Jan. 17, 2024, and transmitted a condemnation order to the prior owner before issuing the March 5, 2025, condemnation letter to the current owner. "This appeal is somewhat of a courtesy because once the previous owner was notified and did not appeal, subsequent appeals are, I mean, kind of at our discretion," Putoff told the commission, describing repeated enforcement efforts and work the village has paid for to secure the site.

Residents who live near the Silver Avenue block spoke during public comment and urged the commission to uphold the condemnation and allow demolition. Laverne Diaz, who identified herself as a neighborhood resident, said, "the whole place is a garbage dump," and described repeated police and emergency responses, broken fencing and persistent pest problems. Several other speakers said the block has long been a source of crime and blight and urged the village to remove the structures rather than allow piecemeal rehabilitation that might not stop problems in adjacent buildings.

A property manager from Cincinnati, Victoria Meadows, spoke in support of Paramount and its principal, telling the commission she has worked with the company elsewhere and that "Paramount definitely is different. They've been... genuinely are committed to revitalizing communities." Meadows said she would supply photos of the company's other projects.

Commissioners asked technical questions about the structural report and scope of the rehab. One commissioner asked whether areas the engineer could not access could be inspected; Keane said the contractor would try to gain access to those areas. Commissioners also raised public-health concerns — mold, pests and other contamination — and asked whether mitigation plans and permit conditions would be enforced before re-occupancy. Keane said Paramount had an itemized scope of work and expected to obtain all necessary permits and certificates of occupancy through Hamilton County.

Village officials told the commission they are pursuing funding to demolish multiple condemned buildings on the block and said community-development funding for 2026–27 has been allocated toward raising those structures. A councilmember (name not specified) said the village lacks the resources to repeatedly secure and maintain the troubled properties and that council may prefer demolition and a larger redevelopment plan for the block.

No final vote on the appeal was recorded at the public meeting. After public comment and applicant and staff presentations, commissioners closed the public hearing and made a motion to go into executive session to consider the matter further; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The commission left the public meeting for the closed session, so any further direction or decision on the appeal was not announced on the record at the April 14 meeting.

The record submitted with the appeal included: the applicant's timeline of purchase and rehabbing steps (Paramount closed on the property Jan. 31, 2025), a structural assessment dated April 9, 2025, and a letter from the applicant's contractor. Village records shown at the hearing included enforcement photos, earlier violation letters and notes of prior condemnation notices to the previous owner. The agenda item as announced at the start of the meeting referred to an "appeals hearing for order of condemnation for 1655 Silver Avenue," a discrepancy the commission and speakers referenced during the hearing; the applicant and nearly all submitted documents identified the property as 6055 Silver Avenue.

Next steps: the commission moved to executive session to consider the appeal and did not announce a decision in the public meeting. Any formal determination, conditions for rehabilitation, or directives to staff will be recorded in the commission's subsequent public minutes or agenda materials.