Building owner files federal suit against Warren City officials

The owner of a building in Warren has filed a federal suit against City of Warren officials over a dispute that could end in demolition of the building.

The suit is brought by the owner of the property at 155 South Park Avenue, Warren, who alleges that the defendants in the case did not adhere to a previously agreed upon decision.

A court-approved settlement from February of 2025 states that the property owner had until May 15, 2025 to complete repairs to the west and south brick veneer walls of the property after they had fallen.

If the owner did not complete repairs, the building would be demolished.

The brick veneer had fallen in December of 2021. Following this, the case states that the city issued a one-year permit in December of 2023 to make repairs to the south wall where the bricks had fallen, and a portion of the west wall. The permit would have expired in December of 2024.

The case states that the city had revoked the building permit on June 24, 2024 even though work had not been completed and six months remained to complete work. Although the property owner appealed the decision, the appeal was denied.

The property owner appealed it again to the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas, putting the demolition on hold.

Additionally, the property owner submitted a case to the court to stop the city planned demolition.

According to court documents, the two cases were consolidated. The consolidated case was heard on February 3, where the agreement for the property owner to make repairs by May 15 was made.

However, according to the case documentation, a certificate was issued on March 31, 2025 by one of the case defendants that altered the scope of the project to include the removal and replacement of all brick veneer walls - one that the plaintiff alleges was never discussed, contemplated or agreed to.

The case alleges that the alteration to the scope of the project quadrupled the cost and time it would take to complete the project, making the original deadline of May 15 impossible.

The property owner had been working towards the terms of the agreement, spending over $30,000 in engineering services and $197,945 in construction services.

On May 16, the City issued a "stop work order" despite 60% of the repairs having been completed to the south wall.

Additionally, the case alleges that the demolition of the building "appears to serve undisclosed private interests", including those of a neighboring business that could benefit from acquiring the parking spaces of the building if it were demolished.

21 News has reached out to several of the defendants for comment, but have not gotten word back at this time.

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