TROY — The city of Troy has granted an extension for orders to repair the Tavern Building located on West Main Street, responding to a request from the building’s owner for extra time to complete the needed repairs.

“Staff has required that all items that are not weather dependent either be accomplished or show concrete action by Dec. 16,” city of Troy Service and Safety Director Patrick Titterington said. “All weather dependent items were granted a 90 day extension until March 9.”

“We are requiring certain additional information to be submitted by this Friday, Dec. 16,” Titterington said. “Then we will determine whether time extensions are valid, or whether we will need to pursue compliance through legal channels.”

The city first issued Tavern Building owner Randy Kimmel a “notice to repair” parts of the storm-damaged structure within 30 days on Nov. 3. The notice specifically mentions several needed repairs, including painting and weatherproofing, graffiti removal and repair of the front, back and side façade.

Kimmel’s attorney requested an extension to the repair order in a letter sent to the city on Dec. 2, asking for an additional 90 days “at a minimum.”

The repairs create a “hardship requiring additional time to address,” the letter said, due to the unique circumstances surrounding the Tavern Building’s damage from a tornado in 2020.

“Most, if not all, of the identified structural issues and hazards identified in the order were directly or indirectly caused by a tornado,” the letter said. “The property insurance proceeds for the tornado damages are substantially less than the costs to remediate the damage.”

“Demolition remains a viable option for resolution of the alleged property maintenance issues,” the letter said.

The property is currently under a purchase contract, contingent on demolition of the Tavern Building. A certificate of appropriateness for the building’s demolition was approved, earlier this year, then appealed by a local non-profit organization called the Troy Historic Preservation Alliance.

The building’s owner now plans to file a new application for demolition, and is also seeking expedited review of the appeal.

“Issuance of a demolition permit under a new application could potentially take less than 90 days,” the extension request letter said, noting that the county could also order the building’s demolition in the next 90 days.

“This building is the subject of ongoing litigation,” the letter said. “If the appeal is expedited, demolition can potentially occur before the identified code infractions are remediated.”

The deadline for the city to officially join the appeals court case has already passed.

“These property maintenance matters are separate from the on-going legal proceedings,” Titterington said.

“If they decide in favor of the property owner, the other side could appeal that decision,” he said. “The property owner could pursue a new application to the planning commission using the new code, but in any case there is no guarantee that the building would be ‘eligible’ for demolition.”

“All we want is for the property maintenance items to be addressed,” Titterington said. “It is very common for staff to work with property owners to gain compliance as soon as possible. It is also common for staff to grant extensions for valid reasons, as long as there is demonstrable and aggressive progress by the property owner to comply as quickly as possible.”