Indian Trail demolishes 2 vacant buildings with plans to tear down more

INDIAN TRAIL, N.C. — The Town of Indian Trail has demolished two vacant buildings and plans to use tax dollars to demolish more.

The buildings were along Independence Boulevard near Plyler Road.

Rachel Plyler said she immediately noticed something was different.

“I was surprised,” she said. “I figured they were going to put up some apartments or something.”

The two buildings had been vacant for nearly two decades. Both were riddled with code violations; inspectors said they found drugs, graffiti, and a homeless camp nearby.

“I think it takes an example like this so that folks know that we’re serious about cleaning things up, and if they don’t take the action, we will,” said planning director Brandi Deese.

Deese is behind the push to demolish eyesores along Independence Boulevard and other high-traffic areas. Channel 9′s Gina Esposito asked her how much money the town allocated for that purpose.

“So the demo cost on this is approximately $36,000,” Deese said.

“And that comes out of taxpayer dollars?” Esposito asked.

“Correct,” she replied.

Deese said when her team identifies a building that should be torn down, the town funds the demolition and adds a lien to the property. Once it’s sold, the town typically gets its money back, but she said there are situations where the town doesn’t have to spend a dime. For example, a developer will pay to demolish a certain vacant building in front of the Lowe’s to make way for a mixed-use development.

So far, the town has demolished seven buildings. At this point, there are no plans to redevelop the area near Plyler Road.

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Zoning documents: Costco planning Indian Land location

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