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Bibb County demolishes 150th home in fight against blight

Neighbors say the house had been empty since a fire three years ago.

MACON, Ga. — Bibb County reached a milestone Wednesday in its fight against blight. It tore down its 150th blighted house.

California transplant Gregory Albert has lived on Lilly Avenue for 18 years.

"My wife has actually lived here all of her life," he said.

Albert says that's the story for a lot of people who live in the neighborhood.

"People moved here in the '60s and '70s," Albert said.

The house at 849 Lilly Avenue is no different.

"This family moved here around 1966 when this neighborhood was being built. They were one of the first families," he said.

Day in and day out, a family member would be at the house. It was the family house, "Until the unfortunate incident here: the fire which took the life of one of the family members," Albert remembered.

That happened about three years ago, and Albert says it's been vacant ever since. The county put it on its list of houses to demolish when the family didn't fix it up. Bibb County Code Enforcement Director JT Ricketson explains Mayor Lester Miller's criteria.

"Abandoned houses that are near our schools, near our churches, near a senior center or a rec center," Ricketson said. "Also, abandoned houses that are in clusters, say on one street or one neighborhood."

He says Miller worries about people getting hurt if they get too close to those houses. Albert agrees, and thinks it's a great idea. He has a question, though: What happens from here?

"From what I hear is I haven't heard what's going to happen from here," he said. "I just hear that they're tearing down houses."

Ricketson says the county plans to sell some of the properties once ownership is transferred to them. He says this home was on list number three of homes they plan to demolish, but he says he's already working on list number eight.

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