Demolition of Dayton eyesore near completion

DAYTON — A Dayton eyesore is close to 90 percent cleaned up as demolition workers take down the long-closed Hewitt Soap Factory on Linden Avenue.

The plant employed hundreds of people during its 100-plus year history before closing its doors around 2005.

A fire destroyed half the plant and forced some emergency demolition for safety sake in 2016. The following year, a second fire left the plant as an eyesore.

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The people living and running businesses in the area told News Center 7′s Mike Campbell that they feared the demolition would never happen.

“The building is getting ready to be ripped down and I said, ‘Thank God,’” Stacey Stacy said.

Stacy and her husband are co-owners of a carpet and upholstery cleaning business across the street from the plant. The second fire caused $10,000 damage to their building. She called the clean-up a “godsend.”

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The city of Dayton cited the property owners with a misdemeanor public nuisance charge in 2020. The case came to trial last month and that was when Dayton Municipal Court records indicated the owners hired a demolition company and an environmental service to clean the property up.

Paul Boggs, a member of the demolition crew, said what was left of the property was collapsing. But now, crews are close to being done with the project.

“We still have to pull all the concrete and we’re going to put dirt and top soil and it will be ready to go then,” Boggs said.

Demolition could be done in the next couple weeks.

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