Owners of vacant Kmart building issued fine of $12,000 on multiple building code and property violations

MEDINA — A Florida-based company was fined $12,000 on Tuesday for 12 separate charges regarding building-code violations and property violations for the now vacant Kmart building. In February 2021, the city brought forward several code violations against Benderson Development Co. of University Park, Florida, for exterior property maintenance of the former Super Kmart building, 1105 N. Court St. Medina Municipal Judge Gary Werner told the two men representing Benderson that the city requires property owners to keep the property up to code even if it's vacant, and that there was no excuse for allowing it to fall into disrepair. "None of that excuses you from compliance with property maintenance laws that apply to everybody in the city," Werner said. Andrew Guran, an attorney representing Benderson, said an additional list of items was given by the city in May 2021 that led to multiple discussions regarding the building and the primary goal of getting a tenant in the building. The city and company agreed on waiting a year to find a tenant but when Benderson was unable to do so before the set date, they began the necessary repairs for the building. Guran said there has been $150,000 invested into the building within the past 2½ months as the necessary exterior repairs were made. "As of today, those code violations have been resolved," Guran said. While the case focused on the exterior issues of the building, another issue that arose involved the interior of the building including excessive mold growth. Guran said that the company has contractors working on the building now, as they deal with the ceiling and beams on the interior with an expectation of completion in the next two weeks. Eric Recoon of Benderson Development Co. said that he made a pledge to the city in 2021 when the first discussions were held. "I made a pledge personally that this building will be safe, secure and presentable," he said. With the exterior code violations resolved and the interior to be completed in a short time frame, the company hopes to get a tenant or tenants into the building as soon as possible. The Super Kmart closed in December 2011 and has remained vacant for the past 10½ years. For the first five years, Kmart's lease remained in place but after that point, the building remained empty with no leases signed. Medina Chief Building Official Dan Gladish said the city has received multiple phone calls from companies interested in leasing the space, saying that they were unable to reach Benderson Development. Gladish said that the building is a nuisance to the city; there have been multiple cases of break-ins, vandalism and more issues regarding the vacant building. "Our goal was to put as much pressure on them as we can to get them motivated to do something," he said. Recoon said filling the vacant building has become a large difficulty for the company but it remains its ultimate objective. Recoon said that he has had productive discussions with potential tenants, in addition to considering splitting the building to have multiple tenants within the space. "We remain committed to not only leasing that space and getting occupied but most importantly ensuring that it is maintained in a manner that is superior," Recoon said. Gladish said that the city has invested more than 320 man hours in the building and approximately $6,000 in material costs as police officers, firefighters and building officials have spent dedicated time toward monitoring and maintaining aspects of the building. With the case only focusing on the exterior violations, Gladish said the next focus will be on the interior violations that are outstanding. During the sentencing, Werner told the company that he believed everyone in the room had the same goal and that it was to get the space updated to have a new tenant in the building. "If it gets reoccupied, everybody wins," he said. Contact reporter Sara Crawford at (330) 721-4063 or scrawford@medina-gazette.com.