Blighted properties tackled in Waverly

The Village of Waverly demolished a zombie property at 452 Cayuta Ave. West on Monday as a part of Tioga County Property Development Corporation’s (TCPDC’s) goal of addressing distressed, vacant, abandoned, underutilized and tax-foreclosed properties for a “healthier, more vital and safer neighborhood.”

Mayor Patrick Ayers, Tioga County Legislator Martha Sauerbrey, and Director of Economic Development and Planning for Tioga County, LeeAnn Tinney, were there to oversee the demolition. 

The TCPDC purchased 12 blighted properties in both Owego and Waverly from Tioga County to revitalize neighborhoods. Nine of these properties require demolition, while the remaining three will be receiving improvements in order to bring them up to code.  

“Not everything requires a complete knockdown,” Tinney said. 

This is the fourth of six properties in Waverly to be demolished. Three in Owego have already been taken down. 

Once the properties are clear, potential opportunities arise. After appraisal, interested property buyers can purchase the land to rebuild just about whatever they would want, Ayers said. In this particular Planned Unit Development zone of Waverly, the property can be rebuilt as a single-family home, apartments, commercial facilities, or anything except industrial facilities as that they are not permitted within Planned Unit Development zones. 

Each property is different however, some are too small to be rebuilt, Ayres said, and may become permanent green space for the village or serve as extra parking. Properties become zombie properties after owners have stopped paying taxes for three years. Once the Land Bank is able to sell these properties, the county will be collecting tax where the abandoned property once stood. 

Another reason to eliminate zombie properties is the risk it creates for the neighborhoods. 

“[Zombie properties] create tremendous safety issues for the neighborhood,” Ayres said. “Every municipality has them.”

This includes, potential rodent infestations, garbage pile-ups, people breaking in, people squatting in the abandoned buildings, and drug use. These factors could lead to dangers that could potentially damage surrounding properties because of its neglect; someone squatting could start a fire, for example. 

“I think the village of Waverly was fortunate,” Ayres said. “We identified a whole bunch of these properties when this process was being started by the county. We got our information in and we determined that these were good properties to start with.”

By demolishing and rehabilitating a dozen properties, TCPDC hopes to make in impact in Owego and Waverly that inspires other property owners to improve their own properties. It is addition by subtraction, as Ayres put it. By removing something negative from the neighborhood, they are increasing surrounding property values and owners’ morale. 

Ayers said that Waverly doesn’t want to demolish all of its historic buildings for the sake of having the village looking prettier as well as being safer. 

“If you lose too many old buildings you lose your identity.”

In order to keep the Village’s identity, Ayers wishes for property owners to take more accountability for their own land.  

“The property owners are the ones that lead to these buildings coming down, not the municipalities.” 

Waverly is planning for the demolitions of 108 and 112 Park Place soon. The three remaining properties in Waverly, 35 Lincoln Street, 429 Chemung Street and 2017 Howard Street, are being considered for renovation.