Demolition begins on Master Cast building in Batavia

BATAVIA Demolition began this week on the Master Cast building at 106 S. Mallory Ave., which was heavily damaged in a March 5 fire.

Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke was happy to see the demolition begin, since the building has been in a tenuous condition since the fire. Master Cast, which supplies permanent mold aluminum castings for the fast food industry, was at the southeast corner of Mallory Avenue and First Street.

Batavia firefighters were not able to determine what caused the fire. Batavia Deputy Fire Chief Randy Banker had said firefighters knew where it started and what was going on in the area but werent able to scientifically determine the exact cause of the ignition point.

There are no plans for the site once the building is totally demolished. However, city officials are exploring the idea of creating a tax increment financing district to improve the West Town area.

The West Town area is centered at the intersection of Main Street and Mallory Avenue, and extends about two blocks north and south. Once a municipality creates a TIF, its property assessment is frozen and new or increased taxes generated by improvements are used to pay for additional improvements or other development incentives.

City officials recently held a meeting to hear from residents and property owners in the citys West Town area on what their vision is for the neighborhood, and to present the citys possible plans for the area.

William Guerin, George Wondriska and Sam Casanas founded Master Cast in 1969, according to the companys website. Guerin bought out Wondriska and Casanas in the 1970s and today the company is run by his sons Brian and Tim.

Brian Guerin said the company will be opening soon in its new building in Sugar Grove.

We really wanted to stay in Batavia, but there was no place to go that suited our needs, he said.

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Demolition begins on Master Cast building in Batavia