Neighbors plead for abandoned house to be torn down

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - “You don’t find many beautiful things in the hood anymore,” says Toledo William McGuire.

McGuire lives next door to 350 East Part St. The house is leaning precariously, the foundation is caving in, and a hole in the roof shows where the house is splitting in two.

“It’s been twenty years that the place has been like this,” he says.

McGuire says the place attracts crime, and enough is enough.

“The foundation, the bricks keep falling out, and we keep stacking them back up,” he says.

The house is a bit of a talking point among neighbors, who all pitch in to keep the house standing.

“We have to mow the lawn ourselves. It’s either I or the lady across the street that helps us out with it,” he says.

According to a spokesperson for Engage Toledo, the owners legally surrendered the house to be demolished back in 2019. It was added to a list of more than 200 properties the city hopes to level when funding becomes available. Government officials are working on a plan to take care of those buildings. Mayor Kapszukiewicz hopes to kick start the process with millions of American Rescue Plan dollars. For McGuire, the wrecking ball can’t come soon enough.

“It’s getting frightening out here at night, and houses like this really don’t help us any,” says McGuire.

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