HOUSTON—Demolition began Thursday at a crime-ridden, blighted condominium complex in northwest Houston.
City officials have been trying to raze the Candlelight Trails complex, located in the 5600 block of DeSoto at Antoine, for years.
The complex was shut down three years ago and has been at the center of a legal battle between the owners and the city ever since.
Neighbors say the complex had become a haven for drug dealers, prostitutes and squatters.
The city recently sued about 150 of the condo owners to get them to sign off on the demolition.
Some of those lawsuits added up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in penalties.
One Houston City Council member said she feels sympathy for the investors.
"As long as they agree to sign over their title to the city, then we’re not going after them for money," said Houston City Councilwoman Jolanda Jones. "It’s really sad that they bought into a place where the people who ran it absconded with their money, but I’m thankful that we are not further, I don’t know, kicking them while they’re down."
