10-05-2025
City will raze pair of buildings if owner doesn't repair them
The city has given a Claremore property owner until July 20 to either fix up his buildings or see them demolished.
City Manager John Feary issued an order April 21 to tear down the buildings at 503 and 505 E. Will Rogers Blvd., and Claremore City Council voted Monday to reject property owner Charles Polk's appeal to block the order. The city has declared the long-vacant buildings dilapidated and detrimental to public safety.
At 503 stands a mostly intact cinderblock structure that last housed a U-Haul rental service called Bluestreak Automotive. Next door, 505 is less a building than a mostly hollow frame cluttered with junk and green debris.
Polk and the city agree 505, which hasn't had electric service since 2001, must come down; Polk said he's about 75% through demolishing it. According to a faded sign facing Patti Page Boulevard, 505 once housed a used appliance store called Floyd's.
But Polk maintains 503 harbors potential for future commercial use, and he has put it up for sale. His buildings occupy a commercial-zoned triangle of land in east Claremore bounded by Seminole Avenue and Will Rogers and Patti Page boulevards.
"I'm willing to work with the city to get a mutual solution to the problem," Polk said. "I just don't think that you can forcibly come in with a hammer over my head and say, 'We're going to knock your building down because we don't like the way it looks' ... you're going to do what you're going to do, but I want to say it's against my will."
Claremore City Attorney Adam Heavin said the city based its determination on the fire marshal and building inspector's judgments. Heavin said they found holes in the roof of 503 and broken windows that would pose a hazard to responders if a fire broke out. The city, under a previous fire marshal's order, cut off the building's electric utilities in 2020.
Heavin said 503 also lacks proper security. A padlock protects the front door, but passersby can gaze directly inside through the big hole where an overhead garage door used to be. A 6-foot chain-link fence blocks its mouth, though the fence segments anchor to nothing and could be easily dragged aside. Light pours through the ruptured roof on sunny days, and birds can be heard chattering away somewhere.
"Frankly, in the state it's in, there's not really any use for it," Heavin said. "It's going to cost you more to remodel it and get it back up to code than it would be to tear it down to build a new building."
Heavin said if 503 E. Will Rogers Blvd. remains dilapidated past July 20, the city has the authority to pay to tear it down and assess that cost as a lien on the property.
Mayor Debbie Long asked Polk if he had the financial means to get 503 up to code by July 20. Polk said he didn't know how much it would cost, and he remains unsure of what he will do with the building.
Johnathan Cates, Claremore's fire marshal, said he'd need to request a structural engineer's report on 503, since the roof is missing and some of the cinderblocks appear cracked. Cates said code requirements var,y depending on the building's use.
"I don't know what all the codes are, but the building will be inhabitable and useful if we're able to work on it without the threat of you coming in and tearing everything we do up," Polk said.
Posters plastered to 503 advertise the building is for sale. Polk said he put the posters up because the property has great commercial value, but the city has tarnished that value by moving to demolish his building.
Feary and Polk met April 17 for a hearing on the state of the two buildings. Feary said he noticed the "For Sale" signs go up the very next day.
Polk said he began working in earnest on demolishing 505 and repairing 503 about two months ago, as winter warmed into spring and he hired a helper. Deputy Mayor Herb McSpadden said city records show the buildings have languished without power or regular maintenance for years now.
"Before that, the windows were boarded up for more than 36 months," McSpadden said. "... I understand your concern and your passion for the building, but until these proceedings started, it didn't seem like you had a lot of concern for your buildings."
"I can see your interpretation, but that's not true," Polk replied.
