OXFORD – The Village of Oxford may be only days away from the demolition of a longtime eyesore in the middle of town.

During the regular meeting of the Oxford Board of Trustees held in September, the village board approved demolition of the property located at 2-4 South Canal Street – just south of the Oxford Town and Village Hall – to Burrell’s Excavating, Inc. of Norwich in the amount of $26,000. The blighted property, commonly referred to by local officials as the “Sullivan Building,” had undergone tax foreclosure and was turned over to the village by the Chenango County government in May.

Because the building contains high amounts of asbestos, two separate haulers were also appointed by the village board. The first hauler, Riccelli Trucking of Syracuse, will remove asbestos contaminated material. The second, likely to be the Town of Oxford, will haul infill of gravel to the wrecking site.

Total cost of the project, including acquisition, demolition, air monitoring and hauling, is estimated to top $54,000.

Demolition of the building is currently slated as early as next week, according to Oxford Mayor Terry Stark.

“This building has been an eyesore, an unattractive nuisance, for almost ten years,” Stark said, explaining that the property had been purchased by a private developer but proved too costly to rehabilitate and return to the local tax roll. “In recent years, we have had some problems with the building. Now, we have a good idea of how to develop that property for the future of Oxford.”