Blight is the process or effect of community deterioration. It can manifest in vacant and abandoned homes, litter-filled vacant lots, empty storefronts, or even lots of broken windows in a neighborhood. Blight and poverty are not the same thing, and there are plenty of poor neighborhoods that don’t exhibit any blight.
Blight is a clear sign that the process of disinvestment has begun in a neighborhood. It is the beginning of an unwelcome trend, with more and more property owners not keeping up with maintenance and repairs, eventually leading to buildings being uninhabitable and abandoned. Once the trend begins, it is difficult to turn around, which is why many communities work to eliminate blighting influences before they get out of control, often turning to code enforcement to remedy the situation. But building officials often do not have all the tools needed to turn these situations around.
In rural communities, it is not uncommon to find that just one building can have a blighting influence. It may be a big old house that has been caught up in a contentious estate for years, or it might be a commercial building that has outlived its useful life, such as an opera house or grange hall. We have seen downtown storefront buildings in small towns where blight was caused by odd ownership situations, such as having the property line run right up the middle of the stairway to the upper floors of the building. When owners of these properties get into a spat, it doesn’t take long for the condition of the entire property to suffer, with blight impacting the entire street.
Are you dealing with blight in your community? You can change the dynamics of your neighborhood to make sure that blight doesn’t spread and lead to further abandonment. Work with your local officials to make sure that they know of your concerns. Gather data to make sure you know the extent of the problem. Create a map of blighted properties to help raise awareness of the issue with your neighbors and municipal leaders. Get to know the owners of the blighted properties to better understand why they aren’t keeping their investment in good condition. Engage your neighbors to take on little projects that will help give a better impression of your neighborhood, such as cleaning up the litter in vacant lots, planting some flowers, or cleaning the windows on vacant storefronts (It is amazing what a difference window cleaning can make!).
You may find that the underlying reasons that have led to blight are challenging, such as zombie properties, real estate stuck in probate, unpaid taxes, or major repair needs that the owner simply can’t afford. Knowing the underlying causes of a blighted property may open up a strategy for you immediately- for instance, if the property owner can’t afford the repairs and upkeep on a property, you may be able to convince the property owner to sell and help them find a buyer who can put the building back in good shape. There are also programs that have been developed in other communities that you may be able to replicate in your town to address these challenges, including home rehabilitation programs that restore vacant housing to good condition, Main Street revitalization programs that can make repairs on storefronts and put new rental apartments in the upper floors of the buildings, providing additional income for the landlord, and microenterprise programs to finance the opening of new small businesses that contribute to the vitality of your neighborhood. All of these programs can help turn around the problem of blight.
Getting back to the blighting influence of a single derelict property: it has been shown time and time again that turning around a key blighted property can be the spark that generates lots of private investment. We have seen neighborhoods where the purchase and renovation of a key, highly visible derelict property opens the floodgates of private investment. Members of our staff have worked in a community in the Hudson Valley that had a major blighted building, coupled with a growing abandoned storefront problem along the ten-block-long main commercial street. At the time, property owners literally couldn’t give away their buildings. The city’s community development agency went into bankruptcy court to acquire this problem building, and ended up in a bidding war, long before bidding wars were common. The city won the bidding at a price of $50,000. Did they overpay? The local newspaper certainly thought so, and in the short term, it certainly looked like they did. But once renovation of that building started, neighboring property owners started to make repairs. Fresh paint appeared on some of the buildings, Sold signs appeared on others as folks from outside the community began to invest, opening new shops and restaurants. Over time, the city became a destination shopping district of small, independently-owned stores and restaurants. Today, those same buildings that the owners couldn’t give away are priced at a quarter to half a million dollars, and that is in unrenovated condition. That $50,000 purchase was viewed as a foolish move at the time, but in hindsight, it was a wise investment. It is not uncommon for initial projects in a community development strategy to involve putting significant dollars at risk. Often, the amount invested far exceeds the appraised value of the building at that moment. But you are investing for the long-term improvement of the community, and the stabilization of the tax base.
Is gentrification a concern when this happens? ABSOLUTELY. And that is why planning for the rejuvenation of a blighted community must look at all the issues, including potential displacement of the current residents of the neighborhood. It is worth thinking about how to give current residents a stake in the future community that you envision. They kept the community alive during the hard times, they should be able to enjoy the rewards of an improved, safer community.
Here at Flatley Read, we work with communities large and small to solve their community development concerns. We can help you plan an appropriate strategy for fixing the blight in your community, finding the financing to make it happen, and working with contractors, builders, code enforcement officials to bring your neighborhood back from the brink and make it thrive.
The Curmudgeon
