Aldi prepares to raze Orlando's Pizza building in Geneva

GENEVA – Aldi has a demolition permit from Geneva to demolish the shuttered Orlando’s Pizza at 821 E. State St., city records show.

The work is described as to demolish the existing building, remove all on-site pavement, curb and concrete sidewalk, top dress the disturbed area with 2 inches of topsoil and seed and install an erosion blanket to support turf growth.

“Results in clean site waiting for future development,” the permit states.

Aldi paid $300 for the permit and estimated the cost of the project to be $200,000, according to the permit.

The permit is dated May 14, but as of June 21, the building is still standing, though it is surrounded by a construction fence.

A sign on the fence states the demolition is scheduled for June 10 through July 15.

An Aldi spokeswoman had not immediately responded with information about what the company had planned for the property.

Aldi purchased Orlando’s Pizza and the vacant lot next to it in a multi-parcel sale for $485,000 last fall, according to county property records. Together, the two parcels are .56 of an acre, county records show.

The company bought the 1.61-acre site for the grocery store at 975 E. State St. in 2007, also in a multi-parcel sale. It paid $1.325 million for the two parcels, according to county property records.

The Orlando's Pizza building was built in 1965. The restaurant closed in 2014 after 40 years and has been vacant ever since.