by Don Moniak
April 17, 2023
(Updated May 3, 2023).

(Cross-posted at Schofield Community Association)

Aiken City Council is meeting on Monday, April 17th to discuss the DEMO 200 program. Anybody reading materials from the meeting agenda packet might conclude the homes in question are always burned-out, unsalvageable, dilapidated eyesores that are a blight upon on the neighbors.

But in general, this is not the case. Photos from Google Earth Street Views shows that many, if not most, of the DEMO 200 homes were not unsalvageable, and were not blighted eyesores—at least not any more than other neighborhood homes.

Following are eight of the last eleven known properties in the DEMO 200 program, which is addressed in more depth in “City of Aiken Demolition Index.”. Every lot is currently vacant. The City of Aiken has been unable to answer the basic question of how many lots have been redeveloped during the course of the program—-similar to the lack of
tracking of city property sales and purchases.

Even if the homes need demolition, the fact remains that property owners are paying only $200 to have homes demolished, while the city pays anywhere from $5500 to $21,000, depending on the difficulty of
the demolition.

Another unstated advantage for program participants is a substantially reduced tax rate, as property owners will no longer pay tax on the improvement value, only on the land value. Property owners paying only $200 for demolition can realize profits two to four times that much in reduced property taxes in the first year alone.

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1. 140 Sumer Street, NE, (below) adjacent to Stoney-Gallman Public Housing. The permit application was filed on July 7, 2021. The permit information shows a demolition cost, shown as “valuation in city records, of $6,500; equalling a $6300 subsidy. County records showed a $29,950 improvement value in 2021. The owner’s property tax bill was reduced from $350 in prior to the demolition to $192 after demolition.

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2. 108 Kershaw Street, NE. (Below) Building permit Application 21-818, dated June 8, 2021, showed a demolition cost $6500, a $6300 subsidy. Aiken County records show an improvement value of $37,710 prior to the demolition. The difference in taxes between the property alone and the improvement + property has yet to be determined.

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3. 223 Kershaw Street, NE. (Below) Building permit Application 22-324, dated October 7, 2021, showed a demolition cost of $21,000 (1) County records showed an improvement valuation of $26,080. Three photos are shown, the top one from Google Earth, the middle and the bottom from April 17th City Council agenda packet that shows the back of the building in disrepair, and the 2020 photo from a neighboring property from the Aiken County Assessor.

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4. 435 Horry Street, NE. (Below) Building permit application 22-326, dated October 7, 2021, showed a “valuation”/demolition cost of $6350, a $6150 dollar subsidy. County Records show an appraised market valuatue of $11,540 prior to demolition. The lot is currently vacant.

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5. 523 Horry Street, NE. (Below) Building permit application 22-335, dated December 15, 2021, showed a “valuation”/demolition cost of $6250; a $6050 subsidy. Aiken County records reported an improvement value in 2020 of $47,400 and in 2021 of $13,180. The tax bill before demolition was $614. The Tax bill after demolition was $211. Demolishing the building created a $203 profit for the property owner in the first year, and $403 in profits for each following year. The lot is currently vacant.

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6. 1549 Wyman Street. (Below) This home in Crosland Park is the only photo provided in the April 17th meeting agenda packet that can be verified in County Records. The building permit information from September 21, 2021 shows a “evaluation” of $6,250, another $6,050 subsidy. The Aiken County records showed an improvement value of only $4,050. The lot is vacant.

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7. 327 Chesterfield Street NE. (Below) As reported in “City of Aiken Demolition Index,” A Chaplin and Sons Clearing demolition permit reported a demolition cost/“valuation” of the property of $5250. The appraised value of the home reported by the Aiken County Assessor’s Office in 2022 was $57,132. It was demolished in early 2023.

Coupled with the property value of $22,000, this resulted in an tax assessment value of $4750 and a combined 2022 tax bill for both properties of $1101.05. The latest tax payment is not yet posted to the County data base; but the first year of profit from the reduced taxes could be 2-4 times the property owners $200 payment to the city.

In addition, the home to the right was also demolished under the program in the 2019-2021 time frame.

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8. Another home at 211 Fairfield Street (Below) was also demolished in 2022. Aiken County records show it was valued at $35,140. The property remains a vacant lot.

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Photos of several demolished homes are not available via Google Earth, but are worth mentioning:

• 445 Horry Street NE had a demolition cost in the June 9, 2021 demolition permit of $8500, and a $29,230 improvement value in County Records.
• 343 York Street North had a valuation/demolition cost in its October 7, 2021, demolition permit of only $6,750. It’s improvement value of $92,180 in Aiken County records was reported before a fire. The last reported tax payment in 2015, before the property was sold to Friendship Community Improvement Corporation, was $1016.96.

Compare these photographs to those found in City Council’s April 17th meeting agenda packet, which are all untitled, lacking addresses, and lacking in completeness. Half of the four structures shown to Council members and the public were destroyed by fire (below). Not a single photo of a sturdy, liveable and restorable home, like those shown above, was introduced into the public record by the City Manager’s office.

(Updated May 3, 2023 to reflect that “valuation” in City Records
is equal to demolition costs, not estimated value, which was not made clear in city records)

FOOTNOTE:

(1) When asked about the $21,000 “valuation,” City officials said that was the cost of the demolition, and it was greater due to structural complications.