City To Go After Abandoned Property Owner For Demolition Cost

Less than a week after an abandoned, four-story apartment complex on the edge of Downtown El Paso caught fire and was demolished, one city representative tells ABC-7 he wants to go after the property owner to recoup any and all costs incurred by the taxpayer.

“(It) certainly makes me angry, not only as a member of city council, but also as a taxpayer that we have these negligent building owners who have, in many cases, beautiful properties that they just neglect,” said Rep. Steve Ortega. Ortega represents the Eastridge/Mid-Valley area of El Paso.

The city gave ABC-7 some photos of what the building at the 900 block of North Mesa Street looked like from the inside before that fire ripped through it last Tuesday night. Nearly 90 firefighters fought for two hours to get the blaze under control. Fire officials had told ABC-7 they had to fight the fire from above due to the decrepit nature of the building and the demolition needed to be done immediately to protect the public from the possibility of falling debris from the burned structure. The photos backed up the statement. The photos showed a crumbling staircase, holes in the ceiling, worn floors and broken-out windows.

Ortega told ABC-7 he heard the initial cost of the demolition was $150,000. He hopes to make the property owner, who he described as a negligent owner who the city had tried pinning down numerous times to fix up the property, pick up as much of that cost as possible.

“I just want to make sure that we can get as aggressive as possible with these individuals because, at the end of the day, the public safety is at risk. And the taxpayer’s dollar’s at risk,” said Ortega.

City Council is set to discuss the item during its meeting this morning.

Stay with ABC-7 and kvia.com for any developments.