T-L Photo/KAILEY CARPINO The city of Martins Ferry demolishes 710 Elm Street. The project started Saturday, and demolition continued throughout Monday. Mayor John Davies and city officials have been working to get the building demolished for months.

MARTINS FERRY — The city of Martins Ferry demolished 710 Elm Street after months of working to get the structure razed.

The project started Saturday, and demolition continued throughout Monday. Mayor John Davies and city officials have been working to get the building demolished for months.

“The city continues to inch forward with our blighted structures one at a time,” Davies said.

He said the homeowners finally agreed to allow the city to tear down the structure. According to Davies, the building caught fire over a year ago and was beyond repair.

Davies said the demolition cost $19,240 and was completely covered by insurance. He said the insurance company sends the check to the city if the property is a total loss.

Edgeco Contracting of Bridgeport completed the demolition.

Davies said the home was in bad shape, and he was worried about the safety of the structure.

“There’s no roof. There are no windows. The only thing there is a shell with part of the roof hanging,” Davies said.

Davies said the homeowners originally planned to rehabilitate the structure, but they were not taking care of the property or making much progress.

“It’s been a year. This gentleman that owns this property is not going to tear it down. It’s just not going to happen. We have cited him for high grass, unsafe structure, and he never comes to court. As a matter of fact, he never responded. His son responded, but he wasn’t too happy with our answer,” Davies previously stated.

City officials are looking for funds to tear down more dilapidated structures.

For more information, call the mayor’s office at 740-633-2876 or follow Davies on Facebook. The next Martins Ferry City Council meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Feb. 21 in council chambers at the municipal building, located at 35 South St. Anyone is welcome to attend the meeting in-person or view a livestream of the meeting at martinsferry.org.