Work at Fruit Valley nuisance house is pre-demolition prep, not remodeling

Fruit Valley — If traveling Fruit Valley Road lately has you wondering whether the notorious Pyle property beside Frito-Lay has cheated fate yet again, rest assured: the dilapidated old house at 4416 N.W. Fruit Valley Road is definitely coming down. “It’s a dangerous structure with multiple violations. It’s literally falling apart,” said city building official Sree Thirunagari. What looks like remodeling is actually asbestos abatement, according to Thirunagari, which takes time and painstaking attention to detail — and is mandatory before demolition. Thirunagari said the current owner of the building, Paul Johnston, reportedly has some nibbles on selling the property once it’s been cleaned up and the house is gone. The site has been the subject of a years-long war between city officials and previous owner Ted Pyle, who fought hard to maintain his private property rights while the building deteriorated. Pyle signed it over to his friend Johnston in 2007.