Fight the Blight Initiative Progress

Cheyenne Mayor Marian Orr on Friday discussed progress in her “Fight the Blight” initiative over the past year.

Work on the initiative, designed to clean up the city and hold property owners accountable for structures that have been identified as abandoned or vacant and deemed a dangerous building per city code, has resulted in numerous condemnations, closings, demolitions, notices, and rehabilitation.

Perhaps the two properties which have received the most attention were the former Hitching Post hotel which received a condemnation letter earlier this month and the Carey Building which is slated to be torn down in early 2019.

“One of my top priorities when I ran for Mayor was to clean-up the city through my ‘Fight the Blight’ initiative,” Orr said. “This was no hollow promise. I announced the members of the ‘Fight the Blight’ committee on day one of my administration. Since then, we’ve gone after the most egregious, unsafe properties in the City and we’ve made real progress.”

 

“We’re going to see the same aggressive effort over the next two years,” she said. “Take care of your property. Make sure it’s safe. We will not tolerate properties that pose a public hazard to the rest of the community. Bank on it.”

Other significant clean-ups from the ‘Fight the Blight’ initiative include:

• 1217 Dodge Court – The back-building property was initially deemed unsafe by the City and was further damaged by a fire. It has been demolished with the main residential property at that location set to begin a rehabilitation process soon by a private developer.
• 422 W. 2nd Avenue abandoned and deemed a nuisance by the City is being rehabilitated by the guardian of the absent owner.
• 316 Central Avenue – three trailers were condemned by the City as being unfit for human occupancy and were removed by the owner of the trailer court. A fourth unoccupied trailer at that location is also slated to be removed.
• 818 Windmill Road – an unoccupied residential home deemed a dangerous building with fire damage and maintenance issues by the City’s Building Safety Department – is currently undergoing a rehabilitation process through a private contractor.
• 815 Capitol Avenue –  demolishing of the abandoned residential property occurred earlier this fall with numerous issues categorized as dangerous and a nuisance.
• 2020 Bent Avenue – condemnation notice was given to the owner last month.
• 575 W. 8th Street has also been identified as unfit for human occupancy with all windows and doors boarded for safety measures. The detached garage at that location has also been boarded up. Condemnation proceedings are forthcoming.
• 1605 Central Avenue “Bell Building” is being considered for rehabilitation with a developer applying for assistance through an EPA Revolving Loan Fund committee established by the Mayor. 
• 1524 W. Lincolnway Atlas Motel – The building has been boarded up and Mayor Orr has been in discussion with the owner stressing safety concerns and the owner has indicated demolition will be forthcoming.
• 922 Country Club Avenue is an abandoned property plagued by uninhabitable conditions marred by broken glass windows and a collapsed fence. Notices to abate were sent and the property has since been sold and is being rehabilitated.