CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — For a solid two months, the fire-ravaged portion of the Marquee at Cedar Lee stood frozen in time since the devastating Jan. 24 fire. It's a scene Cleveland Heights Mayor Kahlil Seren said many believed might stay that way for a while.
"A lot of people in Cleveland Heights had real concern that this eyesore, this blight would remain in our community for years," he said.
Those fears were set aside Wednesday morning just after 8 a.m. when crews began the process of systematically dismantling the charred remains of the fire that burned for nearly a day.
The area was closed off for the first six weeks following the fire as the investigation into the cause, which is still unknown, played out.
Crews started on the east end of the project facing Cedar and began the demolition work, taking down a good portion of those Cedar-facing units by the time work wrapped for the day at 4 p.m.
"We made this happen in months because Cleveland Heights is dedicated to pushing forward," Seren said.
How long the demolition will take won't be known until crews see what they are dealing with, said Cleveland Heights Building Commissioner Eric Elmi.
"Usually with sites like this it takes about a month or more sometimes because to knock down everything is easy but to remove things properly is not easy."
They don't want damage that would slow the re-construction, which will begin when the site is cleared, the mayor said.
"The rebuild I anticipate and hope will begin sometime this spring or summer once this building comes down and the land is prepped for that construction project," said Seren.
It's a process, and the mayor said the city is doing everything it can to speed it up.
"We've come to an arrangement, an agreement that the approvals that have already been given, the plan reviews, the design reviews don't need to be unnecessarily replicated. That just adds time and I know that the people of Cleveland Heights and the surrounding area want this to be done, they want it to be up, they want people living here."
