The former Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple building is set to be demolished after Beachwood City Council voted unanimously on Oct. 5 to designate the property a blighted area.
Beachwood Law Director Todd Hunt said before the vote that the need for the site at 23737 Fairmount Blvd. to be declared a blighted one is because the city could possibly take advantage of potential financial benefits that are available for urban renewal, when a rundown area is revitalized and put back to use, projects under Chapter 725 of the Ohio Revised Code.
“The current planned demolition, of which you passed a motion this evening to go out for competitive bids, is not dependent on a formal determination of blighted area under the statue,” Hunt said at the Oct. 5 meeting. “That is something which is in the purview of city council and our own ordinances. But, a blighted designation must be on the project prior to its demolition in order to preserve the advantages of the urban renewal statues if, and I emphasize if, they are needed for future development.”…