Borough Applying for Grant to Demolish Abandoned Buildings

With concerns about abandoned buildings and graffiti in the downtown growing, the Phoenixville Borough Council decided last week to pursue a $250,000 block grant from the county to be put towards the abatement of dilapidated structures.

According to borough manager E. Jean Krack, the grant–which the borough will formally apply for at the end of next week, and will receive, if approved, by October–would finance the condemnation and demolition of somewhere between 15 to 25 buildings.

Council president Richard Kirkner cautions though that procuring the grant is just the first step of what can be a trying process.

“There might be some building owners who comply, but there are also a few who might go to court to fight [the condemnation],” he explained.

Kirkner said, by way of example, that a few years ago the borough attempted a demolish a home on Spring Street that cost them $20,000 in legal and other fees. He called that situation a “straightforward process.”

“And there could be one or two fairly large properties that could absorb [much of the money],” Kirkner added.

Though the borough hasn’t yet decided precisely which units it will target, Kirkner said at the council’s June 12 meeting that they’re working on a list of structures and have their eye on a number of boarded-up buildings on the 200 block of High Street.

Though Krack says that the primary purpose of the abatement would be to increase immediate safety–some of the properties are abandoned and in such disrepair that a child could wander into them and get injured–and bolster the value of nearby properties, Phoenixville Town Watch president Michael Hill is hopeful the removal of the downtown’s eyesores might discourage crimes.

, he and other members expressed the view that there is a link between abandoned buildings, vandalism, and other crimes in the borough.

“I think it’s great that they are finally taking this issue seriously,” Hill told Patch in an email. “Many of the buildings I have been complaining about have been vacant over 20 years. The Town Watch has been complaining about them for well over 10 years.”

Hill said 224 and 226 High Street are the two structures he would most like to see go.

224 High Street was damaged in a fire and never fully repaired, while 226 High Street has a collapsed roof.