Editor’s Note: This article was updated on Sept. 10, 2025, at 2:05 p.m. Dr. Alan Bazzoli will practice at his 300 W. Vine St. location until mid-November before relocating to another downtown location.
MOUNT VERNON — The city will use federal money to demolish buildings and remove asphalt parking lots on South Sandusky Street in preparation for its State Route 13 realignment.
The Mount Vernon City Council authorized the city to bid and award a demolition contract at its meeting on Monday. Plans are to start demolition this year.
The U.S. Congress appropriated nearly $3.3 million for Community Project Funding in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024. Through the efforts of U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson, the city received $425,953 specifically for the Route 13 realignment.
“In the process of doing that, Congress gave the money to [Housing and Urban Development],” City Engineer Brian Ball explained to council members on Monday. “So I can’t spend the HUD money in an Ohio Department of Transportation contract.”
However, the city can use HUD money for buildings, including asbestos removal and demolition.
Ball said the $425,953 CPF money will not cover all of the buildings that need to be demolished. The city will prioritize the structures, starting with the ones it owns.
Buildings the city already owns include 300 W. Vine St. and Quick Lube on South Mulberry Street. The city is negotiating with other property owners, including AMVETS, Smitty’s Carpet, Domino’s Pizza, Landlink, and Holmes Tire.
A fair negotiating process
The city has a tri-party agreement with ODOT and OR Colan Associates that ensures the city treats property owners fairly when negotiating property buyouts and relocation services.
“They’re in the room when we’re doing negotiations and offers. If someone wants more money, there are different decision points, but most of the decision points have to be made by ODOT,” Ball said.
“We’re working very hard to treat everyone fairly and get those documents taken care of. It is a long process.”
The process starts with an ODOT-certified appraiser completing a fair market-value appraisal of the property. According to Ball, the city has to offer 100 percent of that number. Owners can then negotiate.
“We want to be very transparent about how this process is going because it’s significant,” Safety-Service Director Tanner Salyers said. “Not only is this going to be a major project that the city, along with ODOT, is undertaking, but it’s also affecting some legacy businesses.
“When they see these things change or move around or anything, we want everybody to know that this has been a very thorough and vetted process with the third parties coming in and doing this with us.”
Ball said removing the buildings also solves a utility issue.
“AEP needs those buildings out of the way so they can start doing their poles because in the spring when we start the ODOT project, AEP is going to be in the way,” he said.
“If we can take the row of buildings down on Sandusky Street, we can give AEP two, three, or four months head start. That makes their life easier and keeps us on on schedule for everybody else.”
Realignment eases traffic flow
The realignment is an ODOT project that widens the South Sandusky Street/Philips Drive corridor, making it a two-way connector between West High and South Main streets.
Currently, drivers northbound on Route 13 from the viaduct face a 60-foot uphill climb on Gay Street, then an immediate descent on Chestnut Street.
Northbound traffic will be rerouted onto Philips Drive and South Sandusky Street. The realignment reduces the elevation to 6 feet and has five fewer traffic signals.
Ball said the realignment “puts traffic in a more logical pattern.”
“When you think about our festivals, when you think about first Friday, parades … This is a serious win for everyday operations, and it’s even bigger win for for all the events that we have downtown,” he said.
The city received a $2.5M small cities construction grant for the project. The city previously received a $3.3 million TRAC grant for land acquisition and utility relocation. It received another $5.6 million TRAC grant in 2024.
According to the 2024 TRAC grant documents, the total estimated project cost is $15.2 million.
Construction is expected to start June 15, 2026, with a completion date of Nov. 30, 2027.
