By
Mark Ferenchik
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Chris Russell | DISPATCH
A large hole, partially covered by a box mattress, stretches across the front porch of 66 Avondale Ave., one of 111 vacant properties on Columbus’ “list of shame.”
A man named Hubert Silly formed a limited-liability company that in 2010 bought a ramshackle house on Avondale Avenue, one of the 111 vacant properties on the “list of shame” the city of Columbus published in The Dispatch and online on Dec. 12.
Hubert Silly lives in Paris. The one in France.
His property manager, Luke Lumsden, said Silly ran out of money to fix up the Franklinton house and others he owns. But Lumsden thinks the list will push Silly to renovate the house or sell it to the city’s land bank. Columbus prosecutors already have taken the company to court for code violations for trash and tall grass.
“The city’s been on his backside,” Lumsden said.
No one knows at this point whether being on the city’s list will so humiliate property owners such as Silly that they’ll sell or repair their properties. But some owners already have been working to bring their properties up to snuff.
A little farther south on Avondale, Andrew McGowan has been fixing up the house he acquired as a gift from his grandmother. That house, too, was on the list of 111. Now, there’s a new wooden fence and new paint inside and out. Family members were working on the interior last week. McGowan said he has been doing most of the work himself for five months. McGowan lives a little closer to Avondale than Silly does — in the Westgate neighborhood on the Hilltop. He cared that his house was on the city’s list, he said. “It’s not an abandoned property.”
He became the owner in October, according to the Franklin County auditor’s records, and he said he plans to move in.
“I’m just going to make it a home,” he said.
Community leaders hope that more people will do what McGowan is doing. But they also want the city to remain aggressive.
“If you’re going to embarrass someone, there needs to be more,” said Stanley Thornburgh, a Hilltop community activist. For example, run photos of the houses with the list on the city’s website, he said.
Also, more addresses need to be listed, Thornburgh said. “There are worse properties than are on that list.”
City officials compiled the list based on code violations, the length of the properties’ vacancy, complaints and court cases, said Dana Rose, the city’s code-enforcement administrator. But there is no specific set of standards for placing houses on the list, he said.
Donna Hicho, the executive director of the Greater Linden Development Corp., said the list is a positive step, but the city should publish it quarterly or every other month to keep the pressure on people.
Silly’s Miromesnil Investments LLC owns 44 properties in Franklin County, according to auditor’s records.
His company bought the house at 66 Avondale for $8,713 two years ago. It’s one of 44 properties he bought in 2010 and 2011 that he planned to renovate and rent out. He has completed work on eight, with another 10 in the works, Lumsden said. “Trying to get it done as cheap as possible.”
Silly has no connection to Columbus. He learned about the properties from another investor, said Lumsden, a real-estate broker.
The house at 66 Avondale has a big hole in the porch. Last week, a shopping cart coated with snow sat on the front lawn.
Lumsden said he understands why neighbors get upset when properties aren’t maintained. “They don’t want to look at trash in the yard,” he said.
Derek Cremeans has lived next to 66 Avondale for three years. He has seen maintenance men at the house, but the most they do is put a lock on the door, Cremeans said.
He doubts that the city’s list will really accomplish much.
“You can shame them all you want,” he said. “Obviously, the dude doesn’t care. He’s in Paris.”
mferenchik@dispatch.com
@MarkFerenchik