By JOHN REYNOLDS (john.reynolds@sj-r.com), THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
Posted Jun 11, 2011
People living near the old Spillway Lanes at 1025 Outer Park Drive say pieces of the building’s roof have been blowing off during storms. Some of the chunks measure 2 feet square and have been found in the parking lot and nearby yards, Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin said. “It degrades the neighborhood, and there’s a loss of pride. The residents in the area want those properties maintained,” McMenamin said.
‘Pretty sad’
City building inspectors were at the former bowling alley last month. They noted chipped paint and a crack in the masonry near the west door. Inspectors also took a close look at the dilapidated roof, said John Sadowski, Springfield’s building manager. “It’s pretty sad. A lot of the roof has failed completely. The water just pours into the building when it rains,” Sadowski said. “There are still some of the bowling alley components in the building. You can see where the lanes use to be. It looks like a ghost town in there.”
“The leaking roof is causing steel bolts on the interior of the structure to rust rather badly,” he said. “Eventually, that could cause some structural issues.”
County records indicate the building is owned by Spillway Lanes, care of David S. James. James’ real estate agent, Jim Kuhar, said his client had no comment about the property. City inspectors have sent James a notice to register the building as a vacant structure. The registration includes a fee that is about $1,000 annually.
Cited before
McMenamin said this isn’t the first time the city has found problems at the building. Similar violations were noted in 2009, but the case was dismissed when James said he was planning to get a demolition permit. The permit requested, however, was for the interior and not for the entire structure, McMenamin said. “The building remained unregistered for an additional year and a half. No fees were paid to the city, and the building continued to become a worse eyesore,” McMenamin said.
Now that the city has inspected the building again, the entire process starts over.
Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 