Demolition beginning at the Executive Inn

UPDATE @ 3:30 p.m.-

Harrison Township attempted repeatedly to take over the property, but Garmo resisted in court.

From 2012 to just last year, we hit roadblock after roadblock. And we finally came up with a creative solution, said Kris McClintick, acting administrator of Harrison Twp.

By then, the owner was behind in his property taxes on the 225-room hotel property by $1.2 million and the county had given up on collecting the money.

County Treasurer Carolyn Rice sold the tax lien on the 9-acre property to Lexington, Ky.-based developer Mike Heitz for $27,000. Late last year Heitz won approval from the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court to appoint a receiver and allow demolition.

From a safe distance Wednesday, Heitz and local authorities stood in the snow and watched the demolition begin. Upon close inspection the building appears to contain nothing more than peeling wallpaper, piles of shattered glass, and an indoor pool that has frozen over.

Heitz sees something else.

I see potential. We see 170,000 cars pass by here every day. It is right on the corner of an intersection. It is near the entrance to the new racino. (I see) a lot of potential to get this developed, Heitz said.

He estimates he has an estimated $200,000 tied up in the project and admits he could have very easily walked away from it multiple times over the last few years.

I wanted to do something good for Dayton. I think looking at this building coming into town puts a bad reflection on the whole county, the city and Harrison Township. This is a small thing, by improving it, people will get a better feeling when they drive through here, Heitz said.

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Demolition beginning at the Executive Inn