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Abandoned home comes down following On Your Side report

5 years 5 months 6 days ago Friday, October 12 2018 Oct 12, 2018 October 12, 2018 6:01 PM October 12, 2018 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - A home that's been on the City-Parish condemnation list since 2014 finally came tumbling down this week. The home located in the 2900 block of Sherwood Street was demolished this week.

Sharon Williams and her family own a rental property next door to the damaged property. In the past, renters have been deterred from signing a lease because of the overgrown lot and what it attracts.

"It has been a little hassle because of the critters that have been coming through," said Williams. "We have all types of critters around here raccoons, snakes, wild rats, now we can see a little less of that."

In June 2018, the Baton Rouge Fire Department was called to the property for arson. Someone had set a pile of clothing on fire. The roof was caving in and the front windows looked like it had been used for target practice.

The process to tear down the Sherwood Street property has been drawn-out for Williams. She says she's been calling the City-Parish for years about the overgrown lot and damage to the property.

"Seven years I've been calling and trying to get something done about this house," she said.

Williams first contacted 2 On Your Side in July after she felt like she wasn't getting the answers she'd been looking for. During WBRZ's visit to the house, Williams described the forest that's grown up in the backyard.

"At one time it was weeds but now the weeds have turned to trees," she said.

Thursday, Williams told WBRZ those weeds that turned to trees are now gone. She says this week's demolition has improved everyone's house on the block. It's a change she had been hoping for all along.

"I am so excited that we have gotten to this point," said Sharon Williams.

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