Crowley is known as a historical district but residents are concerned that the abandoned homes are taking away from neighborhood value.
“This used to be a good side of town, and I want to see it back there again,” said Blake Prather.
Prather, a Crowley native tells me the area where he grew up has went downhill. Prather says his neighborhood looks differently now that there are so many abandoned homes.
“For example houses like that, it brings squatters, drug use, it’s even caused drug use in the park, they need to do something about it,” Prather said.
Prather notices other concerns in his childhood community that could possibly be solved by fixing the blighted properties.
“A lot of people are homeless, all I can say is they should probably try to fix them, try to at least rent out the homes, renovate them, anything like that to help the community out," Prather said.
Crowley’s Mayor, Chad Monceaux told me residents have been begging for neighborhoods to be cleaned up, but requiring a home owner to maintain a property is a long process.
However, Mayor Monceaux and council members are working on an upcoming program that could possibly speed along the process of demolishing abandoned homes.
“We’re working to build a list of property owners who want to get their properties cleaned up at no cost," Mayor Monceaux said.
Mayor Monceaux told me they plan to apply for the grant in the upcoming months. The program will help blighted property owners who would like to demolish their home but may not have the funds.
Mayor Monceaux is partnering with a non profit organization, Citizens Against Blighted Properties to help track down property owners.
If the grant is approved, the program could start as soon as the beginning of next year.
For anyone with questions or concerns about the upcoming program you can contact Crowley’s City Hall.
