When a house enters a severe state of disrepair or the owner abandons the property, the City of Monmouth is able to demolish the houses through the Strong Communities Program. In 2024, five properties were demolished and $86,528 was spent out of the $212,000 available grant funds. There were two properties that were able to undergo renovations, explains Communications Director Ken Helms:
“Most of the time when a house is abandoned, it is because of either extreme financial straits that the owners are in, or the house has fallen into such disrepair that they basically walk away from it. The good news was there was actually two houses that fit those scenarios, and zoning was able to get in there and identify that while the houses needed a lot of repairs done to them, they weren’t quite worthy of being condemned and taken off the tax roll. He was able to work with the bank and buyers to get the houses brought back up to code so it can stay on the tax roll and become a rental or single-family home at that point.”
For 2024, Helms reports the year-to-date residential construction total was just under $1.5 million, business construction investments were over $3 million, public service construction was $1.1 million, and then business construction within the enterprise zone was $1.8 million.
