City leaders in Mexia have embarked on a big sprucing up program for the town.
They've taken aim at blight as a way to bring in more economic development and it's already begun to show some results.
Dick Flatt has lived in Mexia all his life and expects big things from his hometown.
"We keep thinking one of these days, we're gonna be a big city, because we're right in the middle between I-45 & I-35," said Flatt.
But blighted properties, like abandoned homes, hurt the city's chances.
That's why city leaders have begun to target blight to improve the city's appearance.
They started along the highways into the city, Mexia's gateways.
"We get a lot of people through here and we want them to have a good impression of our city and having houses that are dilapidated along those gateways doesn't give a good impression,” said Mexia City Manager Eric Garretty.
Code enforcement officers initially identified more than 90 blighted properties with the help of the police department and the building inspector.
The process of condemning a piece of property and getting an old home torn down can take six months to a year.
Once Mexia leaders tackle blighted properties along the highways, then they say they'll move into the city's neighborhoods.
In some cases, the city manager says some property owners clean the lots themselves once they find out the condition its fallen into.
Even though the program, only recently got started, it's already led to the demolition of three dilapidated homes.
”It's not fair to the property owner on either side of that. It affects their property values and it affects their neighborhood,” said Garretty.
Garretty believes cleaning up Mexia will give it a better chance of reaching its potential.
Dick Flatt agrees.
"It's very important if you're gonna continue to be a town,” Flatt said.
Because he wants his hometown to grow, and he says you can't do that without a little fixing up.
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