"Landmarking a blighted building does not speak to the needs of the community," he said.

In 1999 many of the blighted, cramped buildings were leveled to make way for new townhomes with ample parking.

The existing dumps would not be able to process all the debris fast enough, officials say, and are too far from the blighted buildings.

Across the street from blighted buildings, from drug dealers who made vague promises to leave the kids alone, Garcia honed his ground strokes.

Once these blighted buildings are out of the way, two important things can happen.

The town relocated several businesses and tore down a blighted building.

The city later declared the hotel tower a blighted building, demanding that it be repaired or demolished.

Not-for-profit groups continue to reclaim blighted buildings all over the city.

This department is usually responsible for the removal of blighted buildings, or plantings and signage throughout the city.

Stewart invested or loaned more than $1.6 million to convert the blighted and deserted building into a European-style luxury hotel.