Brad Davis | The Republic Columbus Board of Works has agreed to condemn this property at 1015 Seventh St. for foundation issues.
The Board of Public Works and Safety on Tuesday approved the condemnation of a Seventh Street home that code enforcement said is unsafe.
Fred Barnett, code enforcement coordinator, said the property owner of 1015 Seventh St., who lives in Arizona, is aware of the violations and working to resolve them or have the home demolished.
Barnett told board members that the owner actually reached out to him to request the move.
“He called me and said, ‘I think you need to condemn my house.’ And it’s the foundation is what the issue is— there’s about a 6-inch drop in the center of the house,” according to Barnett.
The home is currently vacant and there is no evidence of any squatters, according to code enforcement.
Barnett said the property owner, John Alexander, is going to get some cost estimates to see what it takes to get it fixed.
“And if it can’t be fixed, I’ll probably demolish the property,” Barnett said, adding the the foundation would have to be reworked electrically and plumbing-wise.
A basement in the home likely contributed to the sinking foundation, Barnett told board members.
“I would not have noticed because you can’t really tell from the outside, (but) it’s been neglected,” he said.
According to the county GIS system, the property transferred ownership from Melvin Cherry to Urban Oasis Properties LLC in Sept. 2024 for a sale price of $50,000.
According to court documents, 17 days later JCA Marketing LLC, which has the same Arizona address as Alexander, purchased the home for a sale price of $130,000. The transfer of ownership to JCA occurred on Jan. 3, 2025, per GIS.
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