ALTON - A union carpenter is asking the City of Alton to allow him to rehab a few homes instead of demolishing them.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
Detraze McElroy owns 3 MC Construction. He shared that he wants the City of Alton to implement a “rehab-first policy” wherein homes are restored instead of demolished. He is interested in taking the steps to rehab these houses, but he feels the city “stands in the way” of doing so.
“What is my mission? What can I do with my company to help my community?” McElroy asked. “Unfortunately, the City of Alton stands in the way of people like me that want to rehab and take money out of our own pockets and put it back into our community and bring some tax revenue in.”
According to McElroy, it costs $20,000 to demolish one house. He believes this is a waste of taxpayer dollars. Instead, he wants to provide people with the opportunity to own or rent homes by restoring the houses.
“When you take that $20,000 from our community and you tear that home down, we no longer get any tax dollar revenue coming into the city. If you allow a developer to come in and rehab that property, now you’ve got tax revenue coming in,” he said. “You’ve got opportunity for affordable homes. You’ve got opportunity here now. But they’re taking that opportunity. They don’t care about rebuilding this community.”
Additionally, McElroy argued that property values decrease when houses are demolished. He believes “nobody wants to stay next to a place with a vacant lot.” Instead, he wants to see the city invite people in by creating housing.
He shared that his friends and his own company do rehabilitation work across the Metro East. He wants to see more development in Alton, as well.
“They’re doing it in St. Louis. They’re doing it in Cahokia Heights. They’re doing it in East St. Louis. These are cities that aren’t standing in the way of beautifying their city. We are. For whatever reason, we’re in the way. We’d rather tear a home down,” he added. “Why wouldn’t you want to develop a community? Why would you want to keep tearing down homes? What is your reason?...Allow people to rebuild your community.”
As the new year approaches, McElroy urges the city to reassess a few homes on the demolition list and allow developers like him to purchase and rehab the houses.
