HUNTINGTON -- Demolition has begun on Ratcliff Place, which has stood empty since its interior was destroyed in a fire in January 2007.
Owners Dr. William and Dr. Chris Ratcliff, both optometrists and brothers who run Tri-State Eyecare, will rebuild at the site. The new structure will have two stories and house the eye care business only.
It will be smaller than the current structure, which housed other businesses that rented space there. "It won't be as tall, but will be size-appropriate for that space," Chris Ratcliff said.
Tri-State Eyecare is currently operating in renovated office space inside Huntington Bank, a few doors down on 5th Avenue. Other businesses that were located in the burned building -- Huntington Quarterly Magazine and Duffield & Lovejoy law firm -- have relocated as well. The magazine is run through publisher Jack Houvouras' residence, and the law firm is at 522 9th St.
The building burned Jan. 10, 2007, after cigarette butts ignited on the roof, a fire marshal determined after an investigation. They likely were carried there by a bird, he said. The stucco-style building had been renovated by the Ratcliff brothers in the early 1990s and opened in 1994, as an effort toward downtown revitalization.
Demolition has been a long time coming because the Ratcliff brothers had several details to work out with insurance and redevelopment costs before they knew what would be done with the property. They didn't want to tear it down and leave it empty for a lengthy period of time because it has a basement, and a hole in the ground would pose a safety risk.
Demolition is being done by Master Mechanical, which did the Emmons apartments and Cammack school demolition projects. The process should take a month or so, Chris Ratcliff said. After the building comes down, crews will prepare the site for construction to start, including filling in the basement and seeding the plot.
Right now, Architectural Planning and Design of Huntington is working on designing the new facility, and construction is expected to begin this summer, Chris Ratcliff said. The brothers have not yet announced who the contractor will be.
While they've been doing preparation for several months, they're excited to finally see some physical improvements.
"That corner has been an eyesore for way too long, and we're ready to get things moving in a more positive direction," Chris Ratcliff said.
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