Who doesn't know and love the Howard Johnson chain of hotels, more teasingly known as the HoJo! WOO HOO Well, as it turns out, not everyone….
Howard Johnson Hotels have been kind of a mixed story. There are a number of these hotels still in business. BUT – most are not! Most look like hell and are in terrible areas. (This is a personal opinion – not fact) It is no surprise that there is a decrepit one along the Cleveland shoreline and that it is being torn down. What is surprising is that someone tried to stop the demolition! Well – demo is back on AND GOOD RIDENS! Sell below for the full story from Crains!
Construction crews will be able to resume demolishing the long-vacant Howard Johnson Building on East 55th Street after Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard McMonagle dissolved a restraining order that stopped the demolition of the long-empty property under a city of Cleveland order.
The judge halted demolition of the property last May after property owner Lakeview 2006 LLC sued the city over the demolition of the property. Crews removed the top southern corner of the building and most of its windows before the court order stopped them last spring.
Judge McMonagle ruled last Friday, Oct. 2, that the property owner had not met court requirements and dissolved the order, according to a news release issued by Cleveland City Council.
Councilwoman Shari Cloud, who represents Ward 8, said in the news release that the building has been “a community eyesore for years.”
Although the building may be going down, the property owner's lawsuit remains pending before the judge.
Lakeview 2006 LLC had sought to convert the tall, long-empty building to condominiums, but the project had not proceeded before the city began razing the building.
HOJO HOJO HOJO!!!!
