MATTOON, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois city of Mattoon is set to demolish three vacant houses.
The city put out to bid the project to tear down the houses and has received a bid under the $28,000 the city budgeted for the job.
Code Enforcement official Matt Frederick says owners of the structures can prevent demolition if they clean up the properties. But he says it is important to tear down the buildings in the condition they’re in because they hurt the property values in the area and ‘affect the perception about the whole town.”
He says that once the houses are demolished, the property will be put up for sale in a county unpaid property tax auction.
The demolition is slated to start this month.
