Hilliard-area Perkins could be demolished for new store after $1.25 million purchase

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- One of the last remnants of a restaurant chain's presence in Columbus could be disappearing for a new kind of business.

An empty building at 1451 Hilliard Rome Road that once housed a Perkins has changed hands. On Friday, Gray Gables Realty LLC bought it from K Investments Limited for $1.25 million, according to records from the Franklin County auditor. K Investments had previously acquired the property for $1.1 million in 2007.

The sale to Gray Gables Realty happened a little over a month after K Investments saw a code violation from the Columbus Department of Development, records showed. The Code Enforcement Division inspected the Perkins on June 26 and cited the then-owner for failing to board up the building's doors and windows. It also noted trash, debris and "high grass (in excess of 12 inches) and/or noxious weeds present" on the property.

If K Investments Limited did not fix the issues the city documented on the property within 30 days, the violation letter said the city could fine the company $1,000, followed by an additional $100 each day the issues remained unchanged.

Despite the sale, K Investments' involvement with the property isn't over. A site plan application sent to Columbus' Building and Zoning Services listed the company as a developer on Gray Gables' newly-owned space. The actual applicant, Elmasian Engineering, LLC, submitted a plan to demolish the existing Perkins building and parking lot, and then construct a new auto body repair shop.

The specific business setting up shop in Perkins' place would be Fine Line Auto Body, according to the site plan. In its last update on July 24, records showed the city had marked the site plan as needing corrections.