Three buildings added to city's condemned list
By Andrew Bell
Published in News on March 8, 2006 2:01 PM
Three more residential buildings are slated for condemnation following Tuesday night's Goldsboro City Council meeting, and Preservation North Carolina will be responsible for marketing another dilapidated home in the next year.
The dilapidated dwellings approved for condemnation are located at 407 W. Holly St., 603 Stronach Ave. and 213 E. Dewey St., Chief Building Inspector Ed Cianfarra said.
The first inspection of the Holly Street home took place in July 2005. Since then, no repairs have been made, Cianfarra said. The problems included water damage throughout the home, an unstable structure rotting from the floorboards to the roof and the presence of mold, mildew and, possibly, asbestos. Cianfarra said the dwelling is not up to code, and councilmen approved the condemnation.
On Stronach Avenue, vagrants had used a window to enter and seek shelter in the dilapidated home. Cianfarra said during the city's first inspection of the home in September 2005 he and other workers found vagrants inside. The structure was rotting considerably throughout, and the councilmen voted unanimously to condemn the home.
Rodents and birds have been regular visitors to the dilapidated home on Dewey Street, Cianfarra said. Since the city's first inspection, no repairs have been made to the structure. The home's tin roof leaks because it is beginning to cave in. This has caused water damage throughout the house. Although the owners were given ample time to make repairs, Cianfarra said the home is continuing to deteriorate. Again, the councilmen approved the condemnation.
The councilmen also approved an amendment to Goldsboro's condemnation ordinance. Multiple inspections have been conducted on a home at 302 S. John St., and the structure has yet to be brought up to code, Cianfarra said. The house could have been slated for condemnation, but, because of the home's historical significance, the Inspections Department and the councilmen approved an amendment that would keep the home on John Street standing, with possible improvements in the next year.
The owner of the home, Dr. Vernon Mangum, decided to give the home to Preservation of North Carolina, which is an organization that tries to retain the state's history through its homes, Cianfarra said.
"I was actually surprised to find that PNC is one of the nation's most successful organizations when it comes to this," he said.
In the next year, it will be the job of Preservation of North Carolina to stabilize the housing market and sell the home to an owner with the financial capabilities and resources to restore the home up to city standards, Cianfarra said.