Andrea Marcanti / Arizona Silver Belt Local children peer into a doorway of a building owned by Dr. Wilt at 300 N. Broad Street in downtown Globe. The building, which used to house Kim’s Taekwondo, now sits vacant with its windows boarded up. A sign hanging in the front window advertises the building as up for rent, though it’s unclear who would rent a building in such condition.

GLOBE — So far in July, the Globe Fire Department and the City of Globe have conducted fire and building code inspections on two commercial buildings owned by Dr. Glenn Wilt, a semi-retired professor at Arizona State University. Fire and building code violations were found on both occasions.

Last February, the City of Globe updated its statutes and adopted the 2003 International Fire and Property Management Code. The city has now begun enforcing that code on vacant commercial properties.

In an interview conducted last week, the Silver Belt sat down with Globe Fire Marshal Joe Bracamonte and Globe Attorney and interim Town Manager Kane Graves. Bracamonte said that the city is not specifically targeting Dr. Wilt. He reported that there are about four other property owners the city is looking into, and that the city is interested in inspecting all vacant commercial buildings regardless of who the owner is.

However, Dr. Wilt is clearly the most high profile owner of abandoned buildings in the area, and his dilapidated structures have gotten media attention before. Reports on Wilt have appeared in the East Valley Tribune and on television on KPHO in Phoenix. Wilt owns property all over rural Gila and Pinal counties. In records obtained online at Gila County’s website, the Gila County Assessor’s Office lists 16 properties in Hayden, two in Miami, one in Young, and 20 properties in Globe as belonging to Dr. Wilt (some of Wilt’s properties in Globe are residential, and not all of his commercial properties are abandoned, but many do fall into the category of vacant commercial property). Pinal County’s website has a list of 45 parcels that are owned by Wilt.

Many residents of the towns in which Wilt owns property complain that he buys up old, historic buildings and then lets them deteriorate into eyesores.

The neighboring town of Superior has had the most conflict with Wilt.

One of the many buildings he owned in downtown Superior was the old movie theater.

According to an August 8, 2008 article in the East Valley Tribune, the building was originally constructed in 1920 and housed Superior’s first movie theater.

After years of neglect, the roof caved in and Wilt took no action to protect the building. Superior deemed that the structure had become a public hazard that could collapse at any moment. At the cost of $43,000 to Superior taxpayers, the building had to be demolished last summer.

The question on many people’s minds is why would Dr. Wilt, a professor in ASU’s Finance Department, purchase so many buildings and then let them deteriorate? The Silver Belt contacted Dr. Wilt by phone to interview him for the story, but he declined to comment. In the East Valley Tribune article on Wilt, Superior Mayor Michael O. Hing reported that Wilt had told him that it was cheaper to buy buildings for storage in Superior than it is to rent storage space in Phoenix.

Looking ahead, it appears likely that inspections of vacant buildings in Globe will continue. Dr. Wilt has been issued with correction orders to fix the violations that have already been found. According to Globe Fire Marshal Joe Bracamonte, Wilt has been given a “reasonable amount of time” to correct the issues. Some violations may require a contractor to work on the buildings, so the city will allow Wilt enough time to resolve the problems. If he doesn’t fix them, the City of Globe can then file a complaint against Dr. Wilt. The Silver Belt will stay with this ongoing story and will have an update on whether or not Wilt complies with the correction orders.