A structure on Guernsey Street in Bellaire has sat deteriorating for many years.

After storms rolled through at the beginning of the month, a portion of the building has collapsed onto the sidewalk, causing danger for locals nearby, and forcing officials to take action.

The original Bellaire High School building is set to be demolished this week after the Belmont County Land Revitalization Corporation found the recent collapse to be a safety issue.

“That’s precisely what the land bank is for,” land bank chair Kathy Kelich said. “It’s taking down dilapidated structures that either the owner had passed away or the owner has abandoned, however it has come, the structure becomes dilapidated and becomes a nuisance to the neighborhood.

“This particular property, we have not heard a lot of feedback on it. It's more just that it’s dilapidated. I think right now the most we’ve heard is about how it fell onto the street and how it’s become a nuisance for the entire neighborhood.”

Bids for the demolition of the old high school and an additional property were awarded at the land bank’s Tuesday meeting, with talk of more possible demolitions in the future, showing the need for the removal of these structures.

“We have five scheduled for demolition,” Police Chief Dick Flanagan said. “One being that one down there, that’d be priority. The other will be up on the 3700 block of Trumbull Street.

“Some of these houses in these neighborhoods are so close. You’ve got the fire issues, you’ve got water damage structures that have started to collapse, somebody goes in there and they fall through the floor, they wouldn’t know somebodies in there. Then it’s just a general eyesore. Then, on top of that it, brings the rodents, the rats, the racoons, the opossums, the bats and we all know they carry diseases, so it’s best to get these cleaned up. It takes time, it’s not going to happen overnight. It takes time. People just need to be patients and we’ll get there. Eventually, we’ll get there.”