Pictured is “The Compound” in June 2023, a blighted property at 605 Pearl St., Marietta, that has been the source of criminal complaints and code violations for years. Last week demolition of the property started, with the goal of it being turned into housing to benefit the west side of the city. (File photo)

Demolition has begun on a blighted property that has been the source of criminal complaints and code violations in Marietta since at least 2016.

According to Southeastern Ohio Port Authority (SeOPA) Executive Director Jesse Roush, workers started demolishing a property located at 605 Pearl St., Marietta, known as “The Compound,” on July 2.

Roush said “The Compound” has been one of the top addresses that show up in Marietta Police records for a long time.

The property has been linked to several criminal complaints from as early as at least 2016. Some of those complaints include: resident Marty L. Bass was sentenced in October 2016 for trafficking cocaine; resident Adam J. Hadley was arrested for a probation violation in November 2019; Marietta Police investigated a breaking and entering call at the property in March 2020; The Marietta Police investigated threats made at the property in June 2020; a report of illegal entry into the property was made to the Marietta Police in May 2020; resident Paula Lynne Hadley was sentenced for aggravated possession of drugs in September 2023; the Marietta Police conducted stolen van investigation in July 2020; and the Marietta Police arresting Terri Seevers and Brian Miller in June 2023 after receiving two calls in the same day about the individuals engaging in a verbal argument near the property.

“The Compound” was also the source of several zoning and building code violations. In December 2019, the Washington County Court of Common Pleas issued a notice of violation and a correction order based on an inspection of the property by the City of Marietta. The inspection led to 15 actions the owner of the property, John Parsons of Vincent, needed to take, including; ceasing using property as a boarding house and/or homeless shelter without the property permits; securing and maintaining the structure at all times; and removing garbage, trash, junk, overgrown grass, weeds, brush and human and animal feces from the property.

A worker from Jimmy Harper Construction works July 2 to tear down “The Compound,” a blighted property located at 605 Pearl Street that has been linked to criminal activity and code violations for years. The Southeastern Ohio Port Authority (SeOPA) bought the property last year, is tearing it down and will likely be issuing a request for proposals to turn the property into housing to benefit the west side of Marietta. (Photo provided)

The demolition of “The Compound” is taking place as part of Marietta’s Residential Revitalization Project, which according to SeOPA’s website is a program started by the authority and the city of Marietta to combat blight and help with an increasing need for housing to support economic development in Marietta.

According to Roush, SeOPA bought the property from Parsons in September 2023 for $20,000 plus closing costs. Roush said after SeOPA bought the property they worked with Washington-Morgan Community Action Director of Planning and Community Development Dawn Rauch to secure grant funding through the Ohio Department of Development’s Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program to demolish the property.

According to Washington County Auditor records, the property is made up of five parcels totaling approximately .57 acres and the appraised values of the parcels total $51,040 for 2023.

“Collectively, we were able to get the approval to proceed last week, and as of this morning, ‘The Compound’ is no longer a hindrance to the public health and safety of Marietta,” Roush said in an email to The Times on July 2.

According to Roush, the buildings that made up “The Compound” were all torn down as of last Tuesday by workers at Jimmy Harper Construction, of Vienna, who won the bid for the demolition.

A piece of equipment loads debris from “The Compound” into a truck on July 3. The Southeastern Ohio Port Authority purchased the blighted property last year, which has been the source of code violations and criminal complaints for years, and is planning on turning it into housing to benefit Marietta’s west side. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

He said the crews are busy working on debris removal this week and he expects they will be working on grading and seeding the lots next week.

Roush said in his email that SeOPA “will be issuing a request for proposals (RFP) to rebuild housing (at the property) that will benefit the greater West Side.”

Roush told The Times the RFP will probably be issued at the end of this month.

“We have not made any determinations of that,” Roush said about what kind of housing will go on the property.

He said maybe the housing may turn out to be two-bedroom one-bath houses on top of a garage, similar to properties that have been built on Parkersburg Avenue in Belpre.

Pictured is “The Compound”, located at 605 Pearl St. in Marietta, in June 2023. The blighted property has been the source of code violations and criminal complaints for several years. The demolition of the property started July 2 to make way for housing that will benefit the city’s west side. (File photo)

“We’re going to do a formal evaluation of the lot,” Roush said.

According to Roush, the fact that the property is owned by SeOPA keeps costs associated with the property down, because SeOPA is tax exempt.

He said that SeOPA will bring in a partner to develop the property and the organization has not decided if it will continue to own the property in the future.

According to Roush, the Residential Revitalization Program is growing quickly and recently three vacant lots have been added that are on Buckeye Avenue adjacent to the site of a new retail mixed use development coming to Pike Street.

The first round of the program, which included “The Compound,” was managed by Community Action and SeOPA will run the second round, Roush said.

Pictured are items in the backyard of “The Compound,” located at 605 Pearl St., Marietta, in June 2023. The demolition of the property started July 2 to make way for housing that will benefit the city’s west side. (File photo)

He said there will be 21 properties included in the second round of the program and he hopes the second round goes well, like the first round.

“The goal is not just to make (blighted properties) go away,” Roush said.

He said the goal is also to replace the blighted properties “with housing units that are good for the county.”