Tyler, Texas has an Abandoned Building Problem so Money Wanted for Demolition

There are many aspects of Tyler that greatly show off the city's beauty. In the same breath, you can say that there are many aspects of Tyler that can show off how ugly this city can be. When I talk about the ugly portion of Tyler, I am meaning the many abandoned buildings the city has. It is a problem and its coming to the forefront because of how unsafe those buildings have become for both first responders and the homeless that have occupied those buildings.

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The Incident that Prompted the Discussion

In December of 2021, Tyler firefighters responded to a fire at what used to be known as the Tyson House on East Erwin. As firefighters were battling the blaze, three firefighters fell through the floor into a pool of water inside of that building. Several homeless people who had set up refuge inside had to be rescued as well. The city decided after this incident that it was necessary to either push the property owners to get the buildings up to code or the city would have to demolish them.

The City of Tyler wants to demolish the Tyson House since the property has already been deemed unsafe. The estimate is about $200,000 to complete the job. This money will have to approved for spending before any action can go forward. There will be two public hearings, Wednesday, August 24 and Wednesday, September 14, for you to voice your opinion to the city on the matter. The council will vote on the spending at the September 14 meeting.

Are there other buildings that could get the same treatment?

Yes. Some other buildings that came to mind are around the downtown area, too. Before I show which buildings I thought of, I DID NOT look up if an individual or an entity owned these buildings so don't @ me with that. All I'm saying is that these buildings are serving no purpose and haven't for a long time and need to either be rebuilt or just torn down.

This building is on South Broadway and used to be a furniture store. It has been empty for years and should come down or sold to someone who can repurpose the building.

These next two buildings are on Spring Street behind the Salvation Army. The first is actually a set of buildings that was to hopefully be a small shopping complex. That fell through and is now a scene out of The Walking Dead. The next building is across Spring Street from the shopping complex and is historic to Tyler. But, as far as I know, serves no purpose whatsoever now. I believe it used to be a place to get ice in the early 1900's.

Lets hope the city can find a way to bring these buildings back to life or just get rid of them all together.