The former La Dean Shop sits caving in at the center of downtown Rossville.While blight is a major topic of concern for residents in the north end of Walker County, at the northern end of Rossville, the city's and county's entrance from Chattanooga, the former La Dean Shop sits caving in.
Mayor Teddy Harris said the city's hands are tied. The city doesn't own the property, and from what he understands, the insurance company and the building's owner are arguing over who is responsible for bringing the building back up to code.
"We have been told the property owner and the insurance company, there's something going on there between them," he said. "The owner of the building is Kathy Mohish. She lives in Atlanta and does not return phone calls. [Public Works Director] Mark Harris has sent her a letter or two. We are having to get attorneys involved."
Contact information for Mohish could not be found.
Amanda Thompson Hunt, a former employee of Servpro, which offers cleanup and remediation for water, mold and fire damage, said even tearing down the building will not be an easy task.
"The reason they won't tear down the La Dean Shop is because it can affect the structure of the adjacent building," said Hunt, who was part of Servpro's teams sent to try and clean up the property. "A group of engineers from Cincinnati came in and would not touch it because of the risk involved due to the structure collapsing and the debris going onto Chickamauga Avenue. It's one of the busiest sections of Rossville."
Another issue is the lead paint presumed to occupy nearly every square inch.
"The building was built prior to 1978, so there's lead paint, and there's no way around it. Every surface in that building would be contaminated with lead paint," Hunt said. "Servpro backed off the project. None of us are willing to touch it. Just getting the mold out will be $150,000."
Believed to be compounding the issue is the building's potential historic designation.
Rossville Downtown Development Authority member Andie Sellers said the building was built in 1900; Hunt doesn't believe it carries the "historical" designation.
"I went to the courthouse to check on that, because if it was [historical] it would have to be put back as it was like it [the damage] never happened," said Hunt. "There's no law to keep the structure from being torn down."