City of Troy to shut down part of street where historical Tavern building located

TROY — The City of Troy has shut down part of a busy street where the Troy Tavern Building is located.

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Miami County’s Chief Building Officer, Rob England, and Troy’s Fire Chief, Matthew Simmons, announced Saturday that West Main Street between Plum and Cherry Streets will be closed to both pedestrian and vehicular traffic, the city posted on social media.

A detour for vehicles will be at Plum and Cherry Streets using Franklin Street.

The city said Saturday the closure is being done on West Main Street between Plum and Cherry Streets because both the CBO and fire chief said the Tavern Building was unsafe and dangerous.

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Troy Mayor Robin Oda also released a statement following a Miami County Common Pleas Court judge’s ruling Friday about not ordering the immediate demolition of the Tavern Building.

“It is very concerning that the Court decided that our CBO and Fire Chief are not qualified to give us the best advice possible. Based on the June 16th inspection, we cannot in good conscience ignore their orders, since we know they are acting as neutral advisors to us with only Troy’s safety in mind. It’s truly regrettable that it’s come to this, but we have an absolute duty to err on the side of caution. I can only hope this decision is reconsidered as soon as possible but until then, we can no longer ignore the risks and leave a potentially unsafe situation.”

News Center 7 previously reported last week that both Simmons and England both signed a certification saying the building was “beyond repair and should be demolished as soon as possible.”

On Friday, a Miami County Common Pleas Court judge, Stacy Wall, said she “will not order the immediate demolition of the Tavern Building” on W. Main Street.

She also stated she would appoint an independent structural engineer to inspect the building.

In her ruling, Judge Wall brought up “significant concerns” about England’s opinions on the building.

“Mr. England has altered his opinion four times since December 2021,” Wall wrote.

Wall also noted that neither England nor Simmons are structural engineers and that they both have relied on other experts’ opinions.

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Additionally, she stated that Simmons “did not provide independent, specific reasons for finding the Tavern Building a fire hazard.”

Simmons wrote in the fire inspection of the building that structural issues make the building unsafe for firefighting operations.

The judge also ordered the building owner to make repairs to the exterior brick wall on the north side of the third floor.

The owner has until July 7 to have the work done.

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