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City council approves contract for demolition of former Tysen House in downtown Tyler

Officials say the abandoned property has been an ongoing problem that poses public health and public safety risks for community members and first responders.

TYLER, Texas — Tyler City Council on Wednesday took a step in starting the demolition of the former Tysen House in downtown Tyler. 

Councilmembers approved a $58,000 contract with ERI Consulting Inc. to oversee the asbestos removal and the demolition of the former Tysen House, located at 515 E. Erwin St. 

In the 2022-23 budget, the city of Tyler set aside $200,000 to remove depilated, substandard structures throughout the city with most of the funding going toward the Tysen building. 

The city said that this is the first contract the City of Tyler has awarded to demolish a commercial structure since the allocation of funds in this year's budget. 

Officials say that the abandoned property has been an ongoing problem that poses public health and public safety risks for community members and first responders as there have been multiple fires over two years. 

When responding to a fire at the Tysen House in December 2021, four firefighters were injured when they fell through a hole in the first floor to the water-filled basement. The crews were helping relocate homeless people at the time. 

One day after that fire, Tyler Code Enforcement deemed the former Tysen House a substandard structure and public nuisance. At that time, the owner was told and given 25 days to submit a rehabilitation plan of action if interested, the city of Tyler said.

In January 2022, another fire broke out and Tyler firefighters relocated homeless people found inside the building. Crews also responded to another fire on April 28 this year. 

According to the city of Tyler. the property owner missed the January deadline to submit a Rehabilitation Plan of Action for the property. In March 2022, the city said that the owner contacted Code Enforcement about a plan to secure the building.

The owner submitted a Rehabilitation of Action plan later in March, but it was rejected because the plan did not address the rehabilitation of the building, the city said.

In the same month, the Neighborhood Revitalization Board met and discussed demolishing the building; however, the owner did not attend the meeting. After the missed deadlines, officials said the structure had no significant historical value, the city of Tyler said.

The Texas Historical Commission also confirmed the Tysen House had no state or federal-level historical designation.

ERI Consulting is set to start the asbestos removal in six weeks, and demolition will kick off eight weeks after the abatement. The project should be complete by the end of this year, according to the city.

The City of Tyler will be placing a lien on the property to get some of the demolition costs back. 

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