Demolition Of Homes Along Bristol's Elm Street To Begin

The row homes along Elm Street in Bristol Borough will soon be coming down.

The Redevelopment Authority of Bucks County and Bristol Borough Council have both approved the demolition of the row of vacant homes that sit off Jefferson Avenue in the U-shaped neighborhood.

Construction equipment is already parked in the neighborhood. Jeff Darwak, executive director of the Redevelopment Authority of Bucks County, said demolition work could begin as early as next week.

The tear down is being covered through $80,000 from the Redevelopment Authority of Bucks County and $32,000 from the borough.

Bristol Borough Council President Ralph DiGuiseppe said the homes the borough has purchased on neighboring Chestnut Street will not be torn down right now. There are five homes that are privately owned on Chestnut Street and the borough has interest in obtaining them at some point.

“We would never force anyone out of their properties,” DiGuiseppe said earlier this year.

Some of the borough-owned homes on Chestnut Street. File photo.

Bristol Borough has paid just under $2 million since the 1990s to purchase the properties on Elm and Chestnut streets over the years, per public records.

There are currently no concrete plans for the site, but council members and borough officials have said they would be interested in future redevelopment or expansion of the adjoining under-renovation Mill Run complex at the site.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson toured the street on a policy tour to talk about Qualified Opportunity Zones in 2019.

DiGuiseppe said Monday evening a fence has been placed around the homes set to be demolished because some of the homes are dilapidated and starting to fall down.