ASHLAND — Progress is being made at a Miller Street property recently dubbed a “disaster.”
Three months ago, a seemingly abandoned industrial property — known by most as the former Carter Lumber building — on Ashland’s northeast side was deemed a public health emergency.
A placard and printed notice were posted near the end of April to a fence that surrounds the property at 610 Miller Street, Ashland fire Capt. Mark Miller previously told Ashland Source.
Ashland City Council took action April 7 to pursue remediation of the property — owned by Karedon Inc. out of St. Petersburg, Florida, according to the Ashland County Auditor’s website. City lawmakers unanimously approved an ordinance authorizing Mayor Matt Miller to enter into a $235,000 contract with Simonson Construction Services for the remediation of the “disaster.”
During Tuesday’s council meeting, Miller said Simonson has made great progress in cleaning up the site.
“It by no means is pristine, but all of the ugly, dilapidated buildings that were caved in with roofs broken and debris laying everywhere — most of it is gone. We want to thank everyone involved with making that possible,” the mayor said.
“Hopefully the neighborhood is happy to see that building go away,” Miller said.
City now owns Arthur Street school building
The mayor also shared that Ashland is now the official owner of the former Arthur Street school building at 416 Arthur St.
“It took us a while to get there and we are immediately going to work at the economic development office to try to find funds to remove the structure,” Miller said. “There’s a lot of hoops to jump through to get to that stage, I can assure you.”
The $85,221 purchase price was split 50/50 per an agreement between the city and the Ashland County Land Bank. The city was the sole purchaser of the 0.95-acre property and will invoice the land bank for its contribution.
Simonson provided the city with a $200,000 estimate to demolish the building and prepare the site for redevelopment, the mayor shared back in March. Next steps include discussions with the state regarding the possibility of grant funding for the project.
City closing in on 34 alleys resurfaced
The city anticipates its street department will complete the resurfacing of its 34th alley of the summer by the end of the week, the mayor said.
“That would be a record amount of alleys,” Miller said. “No other time in Ashland’s history have we resurfaced (this many) alleys — probably ever — at one time.
“We’ve got some notes from the people that live on those alleys telling us how much it has changed their whole living condition because they’re so used to the big gravel potholes and everything that were next to their house.”
More notes from the mayor’s comments
U.S. 250 paved multi-use pedestrian path
Miller said the city expects to open bids this week for its U.S. 250 paved multi-use pedestrian path project.
The multi-use path will be 11 feet wide on the south side of U.S. 250 and 6 feet wide on the north side of the route. In May, the mayor said the path will begin at Sugarbush Drive and run all the way to Culver’s near Montgomery Road.
The overall project will also include construction of sidewalks, crosswalks and curb ramps, along with traffic signal and drainage improvements. Its estimated to cost $1,778,347.
A grant from ODOT will cover 90 percent of project costs up to $1,570,928. Combined with an $175,000 grant through the Ohio Department of Development’s Local Development Projects Program, the city’s local share sits at $32,419.
Summer paving program
The city’s 2026 summer paving program should begin in the near future. Miller said the city had anticipated an earlier start date, but the contractor’s milling machine has been unavailable.
Around 85 streets are expected to receive new pavement at a cost of about $2.2 million, the mayor said.
Lincoln Park progress
The Rotary Club of Ashland is currently raising funds to assist the city with the future Lincoln Park, which will be located at the corner of Troy Road and West 11th Street.
Rotarian and Councilman Dennis Miller is leading the Rotary Club’s fundraising efforts.
“That park is going to be wonderful once its (complete),” the mayor said. “They (Rotary Club) are hoping that next week we can have a groundbreaking.”
“It will be simple. Then later, when we actually have it complete, then we’ll do a more grand dedication,” Miller said.
The city purchased the property from Ashland City Schools about two years ago for $1,000 and decided to use its bi-annual Community Development Block Grant allocation — $150,000 — to cover costs of the project.
Through some of the Rotary Club’s fundraising efforts, Lincoln Park will also include a dog park, as well as a pavilion, benches and picnic tables.
