BANGOR, Maine — Sharon Huff has owned a building across the road from the dilapidated house at 177 Pearl St. for 35 years. It was a nice home in its day, she said of the neighboring structure on the quiet one-way street.
Now, drapes billow in and out of missing second-floor windows with the gusts of wind. The first floor is secured with sheets of plywood. The house is barely visible unless looked at from a certain angle past the overgrown trees, shrubs and grass. Out back, a collapsed garage filled with junk sits open to the elements. The remaining walls and sections of roof are barely holding up against gravity.
The former owner moved out years ago after realizing the house was more space than she needed and repairs more of an investment than she could afford. City records show she owed $34,000 in overdue property taxes and handed the deed over in exchange for debt forgiveness.
“It’s sad to see it go,” Huff said of the neighboring house Tuesday, adding that she knew the former residents. “But I’m just so afraid of vandalism or someone getting hurt.”
The house on Pearl Street is one of six dilapidated structures in Bangor that will be torn down soon. The boarded up, abandoned or burned-out buildings slated for demolition are near the top of a lengthy, prioritized list of properties the city has been targeting because of long overdue taxes or unsafe conditions.
The other properties are 10 Barker St., an old warehouse just off Main Street near the fire department; 108 Third St., a home that was gutted by fire a few days before Christmas 2012; as well as former residences at 11 Field, 147 Court and 17 Lincoln streets.
Most buildings have been boarded up for months, if not years, to prevent people from breaking in to steal copper wiring or squat.
“For a long time it’s been known anecdotally that these dilapidated properties have a negative effect on neighborhoods,” Tanya Emery, the city’s director of community and economic development, said Tuesday. “Doing something productive with these properties when we’re able is the best step forward.”
During the past year, city staff have worked out deals to acquire each property and determine what its future might be. Where possible, they’ve considered rehabilitating the buildings and putting them back on the market, but in each of these cases the city’s Code Department found the properties were too far gone.
City staff have already walked through the condemned properties with contractors interested in tearing down the buildings. Those contractors have submitted their bids to complete the projects.
Monday evening, the city’s Finance Committee approved the lowest bids for each of the six projects.
The most expensive demolition is 10 Barker St., a much larger building than the single-family homes and apartment buildings that comprise the rest of the list. JE Butler LLC put in the winning bid of $37,350. That property was owned by Community Health and Counseling Services, which ran Big Red Redemption Center there as a fundraising source. After that shut down, the city approached CHCS and negotiated the purchase of the building for $175,000, according to Emery.
Both 177 Pearl St. and 11 Field St. demolitions went to Cole’s Construction with a bid of $7,500 each. Cole’s also won the bid to tear down 108 Third St. for $8,500, and 17 Lincoln St. for $10,000.
Brian Moynihan lives on Warwick Street in Bangor, near 11 Field St. He said Tuesday that the home has been empty for at least four years, and wasn’t looking great even before it was abandoned.
“It looks like it’s about to fall down anyway,” Moynihan said when he learned the building was slated to be torn down. He said people in the neighborhood have been worried about squatters moving in or someone getting hurt on the property and that neighbors will be pleased to see it go.
Another company, Clouston Trucking, won the bid to tear down 147 Court St., an abandoned apartment building across from Coe Park, for $15,488.
The city took hold of the buildings through various means. The city acquired deeds for 11 Field, 147 Court and 177 Pearl streets through matured tax liens. It purchased 108 Third Street for $46,000 through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which provides federal funding toward efforts to revitalize communities plagued by foreclosures or abandonment. That funding will also pay for the demolition of that property. The Lincoln Street building, next to Hollywood Casino, was purchased for $142,500, which came from Community Development Block Grant funds.
Each of the remaining demolition projects will be covered by Community Development Block Grant funding, which will cover demolition costs and site cleanup, leaving behind an empty, graded lot.
The projects should each be completed by the end of December, according to city Finance Director Debbie Cyr. Most lots could then be put back on the market for redevelopment, so they can be put back into the tax books. A little more than a year ago, the city came up with a list of 49 properties that were more than five years behind in tax payments. Since then, city staffers have been trying to secure payment or taking over deeds where needed.
The city says more of these efforts will come as it works through lists of abandoned and tax delinquent properties. The properties in better condition may be rehabilitated and put back on the market, rather than being demolished, city officials have said.
It’s an effort neighbors of the abandoned properties appreciate.
“We need new families on this road,” Huff said outside her home. She’s hopeful that when the lot at 177 Pearl St. is clear, a new buyer will snatch up the parcel and build a new home on it. It’s a good neighborhood, close to schools and parks, she added.
Follow Nick McCrea on Twitter @nmccrea213.