STRUTHERS A building that's been closed in Struthers for over a decade will soon be torn down.

Struthers Mayor Catherine Cercone Miller tells 21 News that the McKinney Building on South Bridge Street, which once housed Los Gallos Mexican Restaurant and a popular nightclub called The Cellar, is set to be demolished after standing for more than 100 years.

Mayor Miller says the city brought over 40 investors into the building to try and make something work, but nothing ever came to fruition. Eventually, the city purchased the building, but its future remained stagnant.

“They [The City] contacted us to find out if we could help them with the demolition,” said Debora Flora, executive director of the Mahoning County Land Bank, “This property had gone no bid at a sheriff’s sale in the fall of 2021, and the city at that time asked the Land Bank to help them acquire it, because they really thought they had a chance of having someone else occupy it and make an investment in it.”

Now, the building is set to be demolished, with work expected to begin in mid-October.

The decision to tear it down comes after an engineer’s report revealed serious safety concerns, including a twisting foundation, electrical problems and a fire sparked when the lights were turned on during a recent walkthrough.

The Mayor said the engineer's report also revealed that there is a huge stormwater line under the building that needs to be taken care of.

She said the back of the building went up in flames the last time electricity was turned on in the building.

"This is obviously not the ideal situation, but it's where we're at with the whole process of making downtown [Struthers] better," Miller said.

As for the future of the property, Miller says the plan is to turn it into a parking lot and she hopes to preserve part of the building, including the eagle and "McKinney 1916" facade, to incorporate into the barrier of the parking lot.

Flora added that tearing down the structure will be complex because of its location along a busy intersection. 

“We are very concerned about the speed in which a successful contractor will be able to take the building down,” Flora said, “We have a major intersection sitting right in front of this building, a high traffic count, and so there are going to have to be some lane closures and some other accommodations during the demolition.”

For now, the city plans to turn the site into a gravel parking lot to help ease congestion for nearby businesses, including Donavito’s, Selah and ECMSI. 

“There’s going to be some short-term pain here during the demo,” Flora said, “There’s definitely going to be long-term gain in not having a dangerous building standing here anymore.”