The abandoned Diamond V Mills building might be torn down in two months

Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Where a firefighter was injured last week, a vacant factory will be demolished by Cedar Rapids Development Group.

On Friday, a fire broke out at the long-closed former Diamond V facility.

After learning that there were homeless persons inside, the Cedar Rapids Fire Department dispatched a crew to look for people. At that point, a firefighter needed to be sent to the hospital after falling 30 feet.

His condition has not been updated by the fire brigade.

In the past six months, the Cedar Rapids Police Department has been called 29 times for various offenses, including burglary and trespassing. As opposed to two throughout the entire previous year.

Just two days before to the fire that injured the Cedar Rapids firefighter, there had been one burglary call.

The city informed the property owner that it was necessary to resolve the issues following the fire.

”We sent a notice and order that the building is unsafe, this continues to happen,” said Greg Buelow, Cedar Rapids Code Enforcement Manager. “They either need to repair or demolish it within 30 days or give us a plan to do it.”

The owner decided to demolish. The owner has already made contact with a demolition contractor, according to the city.

“With this notice and order and the responsiveness of the owners, we believe the property will be demolished within the next two months according to the owner,” Buelow said.

The owners are aware of “the gravity of the situation,” Buelow continued.

”We are pleased with the responsiveness of the owners at this time,” said Buelow. “That they realize that it’s an attractive nuisance, it needs to come down, we need to eliminate the hazard and demolition will probably be the best option cause they’ve tried to re-secure it several times and obviously it’s failed a number of times.“

The land is owned by the Cedar Rapids Development Group.

The same organization is in charge of the plan to build a casino in Cedar Rapids, which is planned to happen a few blocks away from here. A spokesperson for the Cedar Rapids Development Group said:

“As the owner of the former Diamond V Mills building, we appreciate the Cedar Rapids Fire Department for its response to incidents at the property on July 5 and July 8. This building was vacant at the time of both fires. We will cooperate with the CRFD as it investigates the cause of these fires – and in the meantime, we can confirm that we are moving forward with demolition of the building in approximately six weeks.”

The city emphasized that anyone observing individuals on the property ought to notify the police right away.