Old Leesburg Hardware Store Will Be Renovated Into Apartments
By Lasca Randels
InkFreeNews
LEESBURG — Town council members heard about a potential downtown project at their Dec. 14 meeting.
Bill Lawyer told council members he is selling the property at 115 W. Van Buren Street, the old hardware store, where he currently resides.
The property is being sold to Scott Gingerich of Milford. Gingerich, who was also in attendance at the meeting, plans to convert the property into a six-unit apartment building. Gingerich is currently restoring a historical home on Main Street in Milford and has been involved in commercial and residential real estate. He owns and manages several leasing properties in the county.
“It’s gonna be good to see the hardware store being used at 100 percent capacity because I know the upstairs hasn’t been used for 40 or 50 years probably,” Lawyer said.
Gingerich told council members he is aware that parking is an ongoing issue in town. He said there is currently enough parking space behind the building for two units.
There is a garage on the back side of the building, Gingerich said, and the plan is to eventually move the wall from the alley in enough so that people can pull in off the alley and park there. This would provide enough room for 12 parking spots to cover all six units.
Leesburg Street Commissioner Craig Charlton told the town council that six warnings and seven ordinance violations have been issued in the past month, all related to parking.
Ordinance 72.03 states that: A – It shall be unlawful for any person to park a motor vehicle on any street of the town between the hours of 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., seven days a week.
B – Any motor vehicle parked in violation of this chapter is hereby declared to be a nuisance.
Ordinance 72.04 states that It shall be the duty of the street commissioner and other police officers of the town to impound any motor vehicle found to be in violation of this chapter.
Charlton suggested they need to start impounding vehicles. Council members were in agreement.
Charlton also wants Leesburg residents to be aware that, according to Ordinance 93.55, it is the duty of the property owner to remove snow from sidewalks adjacent to their properties before 9 a.m. of each day and at such other times as snow shall accumulate in sufficient quantity to make walking dangerous or difficult, and to keep such walks clear of ice.
Salary ordinance 2020-4, addressing town employee salaries, was passed at the meeting. The street commissioner’s salary is listed as $21.42 per hour; clerk-treasurer annual salary is $25,959; deputy clerk-treasurer $15.30 per hour; town council members $2,000 each; and town attorney’s $4,250 annual salary.
Public reminders:
No parking on any street between 3-5 am
No burning
Please be mindful of what you flush
Speed Limits in town are 25 mph
The next regular meeting will be 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 11.