Wrecking ball looms for Parkside-Dorr site

Councilwoman Wilma Brown, representative of the district in which the Ira Apartments are located, says razing is a strong possibility.

The Ira Apartments won't get a chance to compete for low-income tax credits this year - bringing it a step closer to the wrecking ball - because Toledo City Council refused to support a builder who used out-of-town carpenters on an unrelated project.

On March 9, council tabled a resolution that would have endorsed Wallick Construction Co.'s application for state low-income housing tax credits to redevelop the Ira, 1302 Parkside Blvd.

The financing would not involve city taxpayer funds, but endorsement by council would have added valuable points in the competition for funds.

James Carswell, the chief executive officer of the Wallick Cos. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, said that because council tabled the Ira resolution, the application missed the Ohio Housing Finance Agency's March 18 deadline for low-income tax credits.

Now the deteriorating building is once again without a potential developer. Councilman