JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A home in Avondale has been condemned after a portion of the house collapsed.
It’s located on Boone Park Avenue near Talbot Avenue.
Currently, there’s a “do not enter” sign posted on the door. The partial collapse exposed piles of trash visible to anyone who drives on the street and it’s been this way since the middle of December.
“It’s really demoralizing,” Kate Levitz, who lives on the street said. “You know it’s not just that it’s a health hazard, it’s also just watching something that was a lovely, cute house, deteriorate.”
Levitz has lived on the street since 2001 and said there have been consistent complaints and problems with the house, but never anything as bad as it is now.
“I think the owner began collecting a lot of things,” Levitz said. “Plants, cars, just odds and ends, and the front yard got filled up and it just gradually became more and more of a nuisance.”
News4JAX reached out the Jacksonville’s Municipal Code Compliance Division to ask questions about this property.
A city employee told us the home was condemned and was deemed an unsafe structure on Dec. 16.
She said the owner of the home is working with the city to solve the problem and was in their office yesterday.
They also told me there have been compliance issues with this home before, as early as 2002.
News4JAX asked that employee if others see similar problems on their street, what should they do?
She said:
- People should call 904-630-2489 to make a complaint.
- The person must use their name and cannot remain anonymous.
- An office will go out and check the validity of the claim.
- If something is found to be an issue, the owner of the property will be contacted to fix it.
And Levitz said though this home is an eyesore now, she hopes something positive will come out of this.
“We want to preserve the character of the neighborhood,” Levitz said.
She also said she hopes rules get changed so if a house has so many complaints from neighbors, it gets looked at more closely so something like this never happens to others.
News4JAX reached out to the owner of the home for comment, and we are waiting to hear back.