Joe Chew wasn’t looking for a medal. He was just tired of looking at a long-time eyesore on Secor Road and decided to do something about it.
Recently, Mr. Chew completed renovations to a commercial office building at 3621 Secor near the I-475 eastbound exit ramp.
The work includes a stylish new facade and some slight interior prep to the existing old building — a 1,720 square foot L-shaped ranch style house.
“It’s such a prime area on Secor and it is a good addition to our portfolio. But it was an eyesore. That’s what motivated me,” said Mr. Chew, whose Kit Enterprises LLC owns other properties around the Toledo area. The businessman also owns the area’s Computer Discount stores.
“I bought the property a couple of years ago and I had always wondered about it — because it’s such a nice location with a building that looked so bad. I thought it was a good opportunity to develop the property, make it look nice on Secor Road, and put a tenant in there to do business,” he said.
Mr. Chew paid $220,000 for the property in October of 2018, county records show.
The building was constructed in 1956 and clearly has seen better days. It originally was built to house a home improvement business, but later was occupied by an architect, a property management company, and most recently, a doctor’s office.
But while the tenants changed, the building never seemed to do so.
Mr. Chew said he really wanted to give it an updated look last year, but the pandemic slowed his plans. “Finally with Covid settling in we were able to get contractors so we could get it finished this year,” he said.
“I still have to do a tenant build out, but that will depend on the tenant and what they want,” Mr. Chew said.
He has yet to secure a tenant but said he has had several inquiries about the property since finishing the facade.
“I have gotten a lot of compliments on it. The structure is the same, the foundation and frame still the same but it got a complete facelift,” he said.
“I spent a good amount of money to make it look presentable. I always felt that’s all it really needed, something more modern,” Mr. Chew said. “Everybody likes the new development on Secor Road. This doesn’t seem like a risky investment.”
First Published March 10, 2021, 12:32 p.m.
