City posts stop-work orders at Von Loh buildings

Published 2:25 pm Monday, October 5, 2026

The City of Blair has issued stop-work orders at 1600 and 1626 Washington St., commonly known as the Von Loh buildings. An Oct. 2 city press release cited unsafe conditions and a lack of valid permits for remodeling work at both properties.

The release said the orders were posted Oct. 1. A notice outside 1626 Washington St., dated Oct. 2, listed “No Permit and Unsecured Building” as the reasons and directed that all further work stop immediately. It instructed the responsible parties to contact City Hall and identified Ethan Roe as the city building inspector.

City crews also removed construction materials and equipment blocking the public right-of-way. The city said the actions were taken to protect public safety and restore access.

According to the release, the city will continue working with the responsible parties on safety concerns and permits before work can resume. The release did not identify the property owners or contractors or describe the remodeling work.

In a recent interview, David Scott, Blair’s deputy city administrator of operations, said the bank and the owner are setting the timeline.

“There are still some processes that need to happen with the bank … between them and the owner,” Scott said.

“I think the bank and the owner are kind of setting some of those deadlines. Now, I know the bank has to do their due diligence … if they were thinking about foreclosing, which I think they are thinking about. They need to do their due diligence and do a title search.”

“If there are other liens against it, now we’re three months out rather than a month out.”

“Those kind of things … don’t really pertain to us, unless some developer would pop up at the last minute and wanna step in. Then we would definitely be involved in those conversations.”

Asked whether he would want the buildings to look the same a year from now: “No. God, no.”

“It’s hard for us to step in and start making hard deadlines when we don’t know what theirs are yet. But as soon as we know what theirs are, then we can … I know, maybe CJ’s not wrong and everything is on the table.”

Deputy City Administrator CJ Heaton has said condemnation may be an option.

For more information, contact Blair City Hall at 402-426-4191 or visit www.blairne.gov