On Monday, July 11, at 10:00 a.m., Macon-Bibb County’s Public Works Department will begin demolishing the 200th dilapidated and dangerous structure of the #BlightFight initiative.
A press conference will be held at the house at 1185 Kitchens Street prior to the demolition featuring comments by Mayor Lester Miller and recognitions of the departments, agencies, and companies that joined together in this effort to aggressively remove blight from neighborhoods.
“This has truly been a team effort from the day we made the decision to truly attack the blight which drags down neighborhoods and makes us each less safe,” says Mayor Miller. “No child, person, nor family should have to live near these structures which attract crime, rodents, and other public safety and health issues.”
Both the press conference and the first part of the demolition will be broadcast live on Facebook (www.facebook.com/maconbibbcounty). Throughout the week there could be at least three and as many as six more demolitions, depending on weather and time to tear down each.
Mayor Miller and his team began the #BlightFight in April 2021 with a goal of removing 30 dilapidated and uninhabitable structures in 30 days. That goal was completed 9 days early and quickly turned into 100 structures by the end of the year, or in eight and a half months. The 100 demolished in 2022 were done in just a little more in six months, putting the county far ahead of its total in 2021.