The former Tysen House located at 515 E. Erwin St. in Tyler.

The City of Tyler is moving forward with the demolition of an abandoned building.

At its meeting last week, the Tyler City Council approved a $58,000 contract with ERI Consulting Inc. to oversee the asbestos removal and demolition of the structure at 515 E. Irwin St., known as the Tysen House.

This is the first contract the City of Tyler has awarded in regards to a commercial structure since the allocation of funds to remove substandard structures during the 2023 budget process.

The property has been an ongoing problem that poses public health and safety risks for community members and first responders.

“It’s an old hotel that’s been abandoned for more than 25 years. There’s been a lot of homeless people that have broken into it over the years and a lot of vandalism,” said Chris Lennon, Code Enforcement Manager.

A fire broke out at the building in January 2022 and another prior to that in December 2021, both believed to be caused by homeless people squatting in the building. Most recently, Tyler firefighters responded to a third fire on April 28.

The firefighters who responded in December fell about 14 feet through a hole in the first floor into a water-filled basement but were uninjured.

After the homeless people were asked to leave and the fire was extinguished, Code Enforcement inspected the commercial building and tagged it as a substandard structure.

The Neighborhood Revitalization Board ordered the structure to be repaired, removed or demolished within 30 days on March 23, 2022, or the city would do so if the owner had not after the allotted time frame.

After several missed deadlines regarding the structure, the planning director ruled the structure had no significant historical value, according to a city press release. The Texas Historical Commission confirmed that the former Tysen House had no state or federal-level historical designation.

ERI Consulting Inc. performed an asbestos survey indicating the presence of asbestos throughout the property. ERI Consulting will coordinate contractors to remove the asbestos and the demolition that will begin eight weeks after the abatement.

The project is expected to start in six weeks and be completed by the end of the year.

The city will place a lien on the property to recoup some of the demolition costs.

“Hopefully, the owners or future owners could go in and develop that property and then bring up the property values in the community,” Lennon said.