Since the start of 2025, the City of Birmingham has demolished 77 blighted and nuisance properties, according to City leaders.
City Councilor Hunter Williams said it has become a priority for the city to remove these properties. Previously, the average amount of time it took for the city to demolish a building was 3 1/2 years; now its 11 months.
Williams said the biggest hurdle for the city was finding who owned the property.
“As residents know, they have complained about these properties for a long time. Sometimes it just took over a year to find who is behind this and serve them the proper notices that the state requires us to serve them before we can start or continue the process,” said Williams.
Williams said the city has looked at ways to speed up that process.
“That process has been looked at, vetted more carefully over the past couple of years. We have been able to shorten that to closer to a year,” said Williams.
Since 2017, the city has invested $9.5 million on blight removal through demolition, with a total of 2,400 properties removed since then.
Williams said it’s not only improving areas, but getting rid of unwanted activity.
“A lot of times, vagrants might be in there; they might turn it into a place where illegal activity occurs, as that property is unmonitored.”
If you live in a neighborhood with a nuisance property, you can report it to the city by clicking or tapping here.
