See 18 blighted structures Bay City is tearing down to boost surrounding neighborhoods – mlive.com

BAY CITY, MI - Neighborhoods around Bay City are about to get a boost as the city is starting a push to demolish 18 blighted properties.

On Monday, Oct. 19, the City Commission unanimously approved three contracts for the demolition of the abandoned and dilapidated properties, which are primarily vacant homes.

The plan is to get rid of the blighted properties to benefit the surrounding neighborhoods by removing structures that are decaying and falling apart, some of which have been damaged by past fires.

It cleans up blight in the neighborhoods, which obviously leads to crime when you have a lot of blight, so this is a benefit for the neighbors and we have a few neighbors that have been asking to get some of these houses done for years, so well have them down sometime this spring, said City Manager Dana Muscott.

The three contracts were grouped in the agenda based on their respective funding method, with two being awarded to Shaw Contracting of Bay City and one to Bolle Contracting of Clare. Muscott attributed the split up due to a push to get them down more quickly.

The first group consists of six properties near the Columbus Avenue area that are being taken down as part of the Neighborhood Revitalization Agreement that was approved by City Commission in January 2020. The agreement was made between the Bay City Housing Commission, City of Bay City and the Bay County Treasurer, with the Housing Commission agreeing to fund up to $120,000 for the demolition of 6 properties in return for the ownership of the properties. The City of Bay City agreed to administer the demolition project with the understanding the Housing Commission would reimburse the City for the asbestos removal and demolition costs.

The demolition and asbestos removal contract for the following six structures was awarded to Bolle Contracting of Clare for with a low bid of $91,520. The properties include:

- 115 N. Grant

- 108 N. Monroe

- 109 S. Madison

- 406 10th

- 234 N. Jefferson

- 206 N. Jefferson

A group of eight structures is set to be demolished through the use of a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). Shaw Contracting of Bay City was selected for the contract after submitting the low bid of $122,150.

The eight structures to be removed with the help of the CDBG funding are as follows:

- 916 Sibley

- 1005 Litchfield

- 1509 Birney

- 510 N. Jefferson

- 504 Fitzhugh

- 414 19th

- 712 Polk

- 2810 Garfield

Six of the aforementioned structures are city-owned vacant 2018 and 2019 tax foreclosed properties that were acquired from Bay County at no cost for the purpose of demolition. The remaining two structures at 510 N. Jefferson and 1005 Litchfield are both abandoned fire structures that have gone through the citys dangerous building designation process.

Shaw Contracting has also been granted a contract to remove four additional structures in Bay City. According to the city, Shaw Contracting invoked a local preference status and matched the low bidder Bolle Contracting of Clare for demolition and asbestos removal of 4 properties at $53,940, earning local company Shaw the contract.

The following four buildings are being removed using funding from the City of Bay City Building Departments demolition budget. The properties are also 2018 and 2019 tax foreclosed properties that were acquired from Bay County at no cost.

- 124 Woodside

- 1522 11th Street

- 1221 Garfield

- 309 Webster

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See 18 blighted structures Bay City is tearing down to boost surrounding neighborhoods - mlive.com