ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — The front door is kicked-in and splintered. Windows are shattered. A jungle of vines is growing out of a massive hole in the roof.
Neighborhood kids call the sad shell of an abandoned home on 158 S. French Broad Ave. in downtown Asheville a “haunted house” and dare each other to venture inside on Halloween, downtown residents say.
But it has been a real horror story for nearby residents — a magnet for arson, haven for vagrants and home base for criminals. They shared their stories with the Asheville City Council on Tuesday night, when the panel unanimously authorized demolishing the structure for $28,000 of city funds.
One longtime neighborhood resident told council members that the site has hosted drug use and prostitution for years. “Anything that you can imagine can happen is happening” in the house, he said.
The man, who is not being identified because he is a crime victim, told council members about the day there was a knock on his door from a transient who had been staying at the house, asking for a drink of water. Before he knew it, he was unconscious from a beating and woke up in a hospital emergency room. He said he returned home and found blood all over his house from the beating.
The man pleaded with council members to tear down the house and he received a round of applause from the audience when he was done speaking. Other neighbors backed him up, calling the abandoned structure a dangerous eyesore.
Council members unanimously approved the demolition as part of a lengthy consent agenda.
The project was recommended by the Compliance Division of the city’s Development Services Department. After outreach to minority and women-owned business enterprises in Buncombe County and the region, the low-bidding contractor was Carolina Demolition LLC of Anderson, S.C., for $28,000, Mark Matheny, director of the Development Services Department said in a report.