Urban Makeover

Collazo and business partner Randy Kinney most often look through buildings with an eye on how to best dismantle or demolish them on the path to creating a prepared and graded building site.

However, as Collazo studied a structure on Cleveland’s West Side, he instead began devising ways the structure could be renovated and leased back out, perhaps even to his own growing company.

When Collazo was asked to bid on the more than 100-year-old building, he quickly learned why some other contractors had avoided it: the existence of an orphaned (abandoned) oil well on the property.

Although demolition contractors are prepared to handle any number of obstacles in the course of their jobs, orphaned wells have developed a reputation for regulatory paperwork and delays that can scare off the most experienced of contactors.

"Initially it was a huge problem, and we had to think creatively to turn it into an opportunity for us," says Collazo. The opportunity has come in the form of turning the property into a renovation project rather than a demolition one.

Regarding the well, Collazo has had it inspected to confirm that it was a well and not a storage tank. The well has been capped, but any further dismantling or full closure of the well will involve working with the State of Ohio’s Orphan Well program.

In the meantime, Collazo and crews from Affordable Demolition began clearing out the building in late 2007. Inside was old machinery, metal shelving racks and lockers, and old components from the tool and die machining business that had long been a long-time tenant of the property.

Combined with beam and pipe scrap generated from interior renovation work and the tear-down of a garage, Affordable harvested more than 35 tons of scrap metal (most of it steel) at a time when markets were at their peak for sellers.

The scrap metal was part of what Collazo estimates was 130 tons of recovered material that helped lead to a 62 percent recycling rate on the project. (Collazo also lists 50 tons of mixed C&D debris, 25 tons of concrete and 18 tons of paper, mostly OCC.)

"The scrap we sold covered all my costs because of the high value at the time," says Collazo. "We were so fortunate that the cleanout, demolition and disposal were not expenses we had to incur."

Affordable Demolition found a willing ally in the renovation project in the form of a subcontractor he knows named Chris Kaluznik. Kaluznik, co-owner of Cleveland-based Kysuca Construction, grew up in the West Side neighborhood where the building is located.

Kaluznik has spent several months making renovations that include fixing windows, removing walls and raising ceilings preparing the second floor of the 15,000-square-foot building to become two loft apartments or condominiums—one of which will be his own.

He sees it as an ideal place to live while perhaps also operating his business from the commercial space that will be on the ground floor of the building.

Other potential tenants for the ground floor could include a woodworking shop or another company that works with salvaged materials harvested from deconstruction projects. Collazo has been letting his contacts in that sector of the industry know the space will soon be available. And should Affordable Demolition need additional storage or office space, Collazo can consider using part of the renovated property.

The building sits on a city block that is largely residential, with both the front and the back of the building facing side streets that are almost entirely residential. Collazo and Kaluznik say neighbors have been glad to see signs of life in the building again and have been accepting of the way the project has unfolded.

"It was a very high risk," Collazo says of the renovation project, "but it is turning out even better than I expected." C&DR