FREEPORT, Ill.: The northern Illinois city of Freeport razed 80 buildings last year, almost tripling the number demolished the year before.
City leaders hope to raze another 80 in 2018, but say that depends on grant funding. The idea is to rid the city of blighted homes.
The (Freeport) Journal Standard reports that the demolitions last year were paid for with grants and about $240,000 from the city’s budget. City Manager Lowell Crow says grant funding will determine how many houses can be razed this year. More discussions are likely to take place in May during budget talks for fiscal year 2019.
City officials say plans haven’t been made for what to do with the lots where the razed houses once stood. Some ideas include making them into community gardens. -AP
