OBSERVER Photos by Braden Carmen Pictured is the former Pawn Starz building on Route 20 in Sheridan, which burned down over three years ago.

SHERIDAN — Getting a property cleaned up is harder than one might think. Even the Chautauqua County Land Bank has issues in getting the work done.

The Land Bank has run into the same problems as the town of Sheridan has with the former Pawn Starz site on Route 20, which has remained in disrepair after being destroyed in a fire in the summer of 2022. With a long list of liens attached to the property, the Land Bank — like the Town — is hesitant to clean up the site until the liens are resolved. According to the Town, the property has over $27,000 worth of liens placed on it. More than $8,400 in fines were issued in Town Court that were also not paid.

Adding to the difficulty with the Pawn Starz site is the fact that the damaged site spans across two different parcels of land. One of the parcels was acquired by the Land Bank through the foreclosure process, but the property with substantial liens has not gone through foreclosure yet.

“It’s very complicated. There are reasons that it has taken this long to get it cleaned up,” said Chautauqua County Land Bank Executive Director Gina Paradis.

Throughout the past three years, residents have consistently said the area is unsafe, including claims of debris being blown by the wind into the road and onto neighboring properties. Residents have claimed that their vehicles were damaged by debris that was blown into the road, while others have claimed the site has caused a dangerous distraction to drivers as they pass the site.

The Land Bank is hopeful to find a solution, which could come soon if the liens are released due to the lack of value attached to the property in its current state. If not, another option is pursuing the parcel through the foreclosure process next year.

The Land Bank has funds set aside to complete the demolition and removal of debris from the site once the legal issues with the site are resolved. The Land Bank also will seek approval from the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to do the cleanup, as the site is suspected to be contaminated due to the debris from the fire.

Paradis hoped to address the site by the end of the year, but it is unclear how feasible that is with the legal issues remaining with the site. If not in 2025, the Land Bank will try to resolve the issues in the first quarter of 2026.

“We are hoping to move forward as quickly as we can with it,” said Paradis.

The Land Bank is also pursuing cleanup of several other properties in the county, including the former Grange Hall in Arkwright. The Land Bank is awaiting the title from the county, but as soon as the title is received, the environmental review process will proceed.

Demolition of the Grange Hall will move along “fairly quickly,” according to Paradis, as the Land Bank is ready to proceed once the environmental review process is completed. Paradis noted that the DEC is buried in work due to new wetlands regulations, so it is anticipated that the environmental review for the Grange Hall will take approximately three to four months.

Another property, in downtown Silver Creek, is on the same timeline as the Grange Hall, with the Land Bank awaiting title from the county, followed by the environmental review process. Paradis called the demolition “challenging” because of the location of the property, as it hangs over a cliff. “It’s going to be a pretty delicate demolition,” Paradis said.

For more information regarding the Chautauqua County Land Bank Corp., call (716) 969-7843 or visit www.chqlandbank.org.