BELTON, Texas (KXXV) — A historic house in Belton is facing demolition after the city deemed it not up to code, but neighbors are hoping someone will step in to save and restore the property.
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The current owners, Cheung's Investments LLC, have decided to put the property on the market to sell the land. According to city documents, the owners have signed a contract with an unnamed local real estate company. They are asking for city assistance in the demolition cost.
25 News spoke with neighbors who say the house just needs someone to give it love. Jacqualine Rum, who moved into her neighboring historic home three years ago drawn by the vintage look, wants someone to invest in the property.
"It's sad to see, you know, they can see the other surrounding properties that are cute and charming and look really nice, and then they see a home, a property like that in such disrepair, and I think I know, I think of it as it's sad to see because it's not being respected like it should have been," Rum said.
"I strongly disagree with the process of saying I'm going to purchase a home that's historic, that's an old home, and let it sit. Fall into disrepair for 10, 15, 20 years or however long you've owned it without making any kind of attempts to take care of it and then turn and say, hey, I can't take care of my property. Can you demolish it so that I can sell it at a higher value? I just strongly disagree with that. I think that our homes such as that one are a privilege," Rum said.
The estimated cost of the restoration would be about $97,500, while the value of the property is estimated to be a little more than $64,000, according to the Bell County Appraisal district. The city has pushed the owner to look at many options to restore the property for months.
Paul Romer with the City of Belton said the vintage draw is common in the area.
"If you look at Belton, uh, you think of our courthouse, you know, that's a historic building. Our, our downtown area that, you know, it's, it's really modernized, uh, but all of those are contributing structures, uh, to the historic nature of, of, of Belton," Romer said.
Romer said the city wants to keep the historic charm of Belton while still being respectful of the owner.
"The balance that is trying to be accomplished here where, you know, property owner rights are, are, are important and we need to respect those. But uh historic properties are also important and once they're gone, they're gone," Romer said.
If the house is demolished, it would be considered a 'demolition by neglect' due to the owner not keeping up with the property. If the demolition is disapproved, the owner could still appeal the decision at the city council.
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