The Knox Board of Works last week affirmed a demolition order for a vacant house and took steps to acquire a second blighted structure.
Ownership of the house at 322 Spruce Drive was recently transferred to the city via quitclaim deed. It’s been vacant for nearly eight years and is not secured. Some of the windows are broken, and others are covered with bars. The roof is falling in, and the structure has extensive water damage and mold growing inside, according to information shared with the board last week. Utilities to the property are not connected, and the yard is overgrown.
The Board of Works voted to affirm the demolition order and tear the structure down within 30 days.
A demolition order for the second property at 306 West Smith Court in Parkview Heights was affirmed by the Board of Works last month, but the structure is still standing. City officials say the owner wants nothing to do with the property, which is on the county’s rolls for a February certificate sale. Rather than spend the money now to demolish the structure, the board of works opted to levy a maximum $5,000 special assessment to discourage investors from buying the certificate. That will clear the way for the county to turn the title over to the city if it does not sell.
Mayor Dennis Estok noted the city owns all of the adjacent properties on that block.
