Buildings purchased for stadium to be razed

Within the next week, the city will demolish five buildings sitting on property it originally purchased to be part of a Boston Red Sox spring-training stadium site.

The 1.2 acres on U.S. 301 at Laurel Street were purchased in August for $4.7 million. The county originally bought the land earlier this year, with the agreement that the city would reimburse the county. Both governments were hoping to build a stadium there to attract the Red Sox.

But after the team decided to stay in Fort Myers, the city was left with the land.

It will raze the buildings that used to be home to a strip club, a mobile-home repair shop and tire store. The veterinary business will continue to lease its building. The demolition is expected to take a month to complete.

The city will sod the land, which is adjacent to Payne Park, while it decides what to do with it.

Contact Robin Roy at [email protected].