Benton Harbor City Commissioners are seeking the demolition of 27 abandoned homes around the city.
At a Monday meeting, the city commission approved a contract with Commonwealth Heritage Group for a required State Historic Preservation Office review of the sites so the demolitions can happen.
Commissioner Juanita Henry said many of these homes are fire damaged. Mayor Marcus Muhammad said it’s time for them to go.
“These are just total eyesores because I have gotten a lot of calls from property owners, homeowners, saying, ‘This house next to my home is tore down…this was a fire five years ago. When are you going to do something with it?'”
Interim City Manager Alex Little said 23 of the structures are privately owned, while the city owns three and the county owns one. Some of the owners have Benton Harbor addresses, while others are out of state.
The city is using Community Development Block Grant funds for the project, which is why the State Historic Preservation Office review is required.
The city had a list of 56 buildings to demolish when the process began about two years ago, but many were taken off the list, sometimes because people were found living in the damaged structures.
The contract approved by commissioners Monday was for $7,150. Little said this is only the first step to get the blighted structures torn down.
