ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – An apartment building in southeast Albuquerque that’s been vacant for years has drawn so many complaints from neighbors, the city is finally tearing it down. Demolition on the building started on Wednesday morning with neighbors outside watching as the process started.
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Neighbors are thrilled to see the vacant and neglected apartment building on the corner of Zuni and Mesilla come down. Over the years they say they’ve filed countless complaints with the city.
“There’s a lot of illegal activity that happens there,” said Beverly Eland, a neighbor. They’re not the only ones, the Planning and Zoning Department says they’ve received well over 100 complaints from 311 in the past year alone.
“A lot of those calls have been for items such as fires,” said Interim Planning Director Alan Varela. “Not only do they endanger the neighborhood, they also endanger our first responders.”
In June, the city unveiled the Problematic Properties Program. A webpage highlighting what officials are calling the 15 worst of the city’s approximately 300 nuisance properties. Since early 2020, the city has resolved more than 30 problems. Of those, seven have been torn down by the city.
City Code Enforcement says the demolition of this property will be about $40,000 depending on whether it could take anywhere from three to five days. The property owner will be held responsible for the cost of demolition. The city says they have about $250,000 to $350,000 for these kinds of demo projects each year.
