The owner of a company that owns a dilapidated vacant building and a grading contractor met with a town official yesterday to discuss removing the building.
Renneth "R.J." Calton is the owner and manager of Cal-Corp LLC of Raleigh, a real-estate rental and investment company. Cal-Corp owns the building at 1220 Old Greensboro Road, which is visible from westbound Business 40, near the Macy Grove Road bridge.
The building has been abandoned for at least 20 years.
Calton and a representative of Bodford Construction Inc. of Winston-Salem met with Ken Whitaker, Kernersville's zoning and inspections administrator. Calton and the contractor also visited the site of the building.
Calton may hire the contractor to demolish the building and remove the debris, Whitaker said.
"Hopefully, they will reach an agreement and set a timetable to remove the building," he said. "Our overall goal is to make the building go away. If it takes another few weeks, that will be OK."
Calton declined to comment about the building. On Sept. 4, Calton met with Whitaker, Town Manager Curtis Swisher and Town Attorney John Wolfe about the building.
The building's demolition could cost the company between $15,000 and $20,000, Whitaker said. It has a large amount of concrete and bricks, and the site has a doublewide trailer that also must be removed.
Calton told them he needed time to talk with his partners about what to do, Whitaker said. Town officials gave Calton about 10 days to get back to them.
Before its meeting with Calton, the town had taken steps to start legal action.
Town officials have described the industrial building as a dangerous nuisance, an eyesore, a target for graffiti and a place that attracts children and homeless people. Neighbors also have complained about the building.
The building was used as an equipment and machine company. It was built in 1965, and it has a tax value of $190,172, but its commercial value is $17,724.
At some point, fire damaged the building's front section.
Whitaker and three other town officials checked the building in April. He then sent Calton two notices about its condition.
The town later had a hearing, and then ordered the owner to demolish the building. State law allows the owner 10 days to appeal the order.
Before Calton's first meeting with town officials earlier this month, Cal-Corp had not responded to any of the town's demands or notices.
Under state law, the town can demolish the building and impose the charges as a lien against the owner, a town record says. "We are trying to get voluntary compliance," Whitaker said.
■ John Hinton can be reached at 727-7302 or at jhinton@wsjournal.com.
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