Demolition is planned for the former Universal Rundle office building at 217 N. Mill St.
Lawrence County Human Services Center, a behavioral health care provider, owns the building.
The agency’s attorney Paul Lynch said Thursday the building will be demolished as soon as possible. The property will be turned into into a landscape park with trees, benches and a small amphitheater. Lynch said those plans are in the design phase.
The building was the former Universal Rundle office and was later Patches Place before it shut down.
The New Castle code enforcement department on April 3 determined the building was dangerous to public safety and a nuisance, recommending either making repairs or demolishing it.
Bricks and other debris have been scattered for weeks, with areas of the property blocked off with caution tape.
Lynch said the building was empty at the time of the code notice, other than the Human Services Center using it for storage. Wind and water likely caused the damage.
He said at one point the Human Services Center planned to remodel the building for a veterans center, but now plans to host it in the former Red Cross building in town instead.
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