Marco Polo in Vienna To Be Demolished Within a Month

Months after a fire destroyed the Marco Polo restaurant in Vienna, town officials hope they could soon tear the building down.

A fire at the restaurant in October left the building completely destroyed. Two teens were ultimately charged with arson.

Today, the restaurant remains a burned husk and the Vienna Town Council has initiated “blight proceedings” to try and have the building destroyed, an effort that seems to be bearing fruit.

“We are making progress,” said Town Manager Mercury Payton at a Town Council meeting on Monday (Jan. 28). “We are rather close to having what we need for the demolition permit. We don’t have the demolition permit authorized at this point.”

According to Cindy Petkac, director of planning and zoning for the Town of Vienna, discussion on the demolition of the burned building has been proceeding quickly over the last few weeks.

Petkac said staff met with the building’s owner and staff is currently reviewing a demolition permit with revised erosion and sediment control. Water and sewer access to the building has been capped.

“It was well over a month ago that we started blight proceedings,” said Vienna Town Council Member Howard Springsteen. “I’m getting a lot of complaints that this is an eyesore.”

Petkac said demolition at the building is expected within a month.

“The sooner that building gets cleared, the safer it will be,” said Mayor Laurie DiRocco.

Another fire occurred last week, when a large tree fell onto power lines behind the 123-year-old Bouton Hall at the corner of Church and Mill Streets. The building is owned by the Masonic organization, Concord Lodge 307, and contains the Pennywise Thrift Shop.

According to town staff, the damage from the fire is still being assessed. Payton said how the damage will affect planned renovations to the building is too premature to say.