The Chautauqua County Land Bank owns the buildings, on the east side of Main Street between Second and Third streets. They will be demolished “probably as soon as the weather breaks,” Mayor Wilfred Rosas said Thursday.

He said the structures were ready for demolition six months ago, but the land bank and the city had to finish getting permits and lining up contractors. City workers will assist the land bank personnel with the teardown.

The buildings used to house a bicycle shop, a bowling alley and a dry cleaner. The words “Water cut” are spray painted on all three and they are taped and fenced off. A plaque near the top of the former bowling alley states it was built in 1924. All the structures have sat vacant for years.

After demolition, the site will be cleared and made “shovel ready for development,” Rosas said.

Mayor Wilfred Rosas

The land is across the railroad tracks from a building owned by CSX that used to be a passenger station, until service terminated in 1971. Rosas said this week, “It is an area that we are hoping to propose for the new Amtrak station.”

However, he added, other sites will be under consideration, and the decision on where to put a station is ultimately Amtrak’s.

Dunkirk’s quest for passenger rail service, recently renewed after a failed effort in the 1990s, is just beginning. The Common Council just approved a feasibility study for a new station on Tuesday.