CANTON – When the Ritz Hotel Apartments first opened in the 1920s, they offered high-end furnishings and luxury living amenities. But Mayor William V. Sherer II said restoring the vacant building today may not be economically feasible.

The building sits abandoned at 705 Sixth St. NW. Windows are busted out, the doors are boarded and the property is what Don Ackerman, director of Canton for All People, calls “a public safety hazard.”

Ackerman leads the community development group focused on downtown Canton neighborhood improvements. Two years ago, he believed the Ritz Hotel Apartment building was salvageable, captivated by the structure's history.

Since then, windows remained open, the roof gave way and rain poured through the old chimney shaft down to the foundation. After a recent to

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