City Of Largo To Demolish Abandoned House

LARGO, FL — As part of Largo's effort to address nuisance properties, the city is demolishing a house that has been vacant, abandoned and neglected for years.

Located at 511 Cleveland Ave. in downtown Largo, the house has been abandoned since 2014. Since then, the property has had ongoing code violation issues and has spent thousands of dollars in maintenance costs including mowing the property and boarding up the house to control vandalism.

Due to the extensive neglect, city officials, who obtained the property through foreclosure, decided to demolish it. The lot will eventually be redeveloped with a house in keeping with the ongoing revitalization occurring in Largo’s downtown neighborhoods.

Abandoned houses attract criminal activity, depress property values and discourage investment, noted city officials. They also create a chronic nuisance that can impact an entire neighborhood.

Largo is using various strategies to remediate these derelict properties, including lien forgiveness programs, foreclosure, the acquisition of properties and redevelopment through the city’s affordable housing programs.

For more information about Largo's nuisance property abatement program, contact community standards manager Tracey Schofield at 727-587-6799 or tschofie@largo.com.