Contractors eyeing Natick mold house: New owner would have to demolish condemned structure
By
Sarah MacDonald / News Staff Writer, Metro West Daily News
Saturday, June 19, 2004
NATICK -- A local family whose home has been ravaged by toxic
mold is looking to sell the property, officials said.
The
Rabi family home at 123A Bacon St. was targeted by the town for demolition
in April, but the work was delayed as the family looked to salvage their
belongings, said Jim White, Natick's senior environmental health specialist.
"They had a lot of stuff in there and hoped to be able to save some of
it," White said.
The family met with town officials and decided against paying to
demolish the home themselves, he said. Instead, the Rabis will likely sell
the land to a developer, who would be required to knock down the house.
White said the Rabis, who are believed to be staying with relatives in
the area, were "fully cooperating."
The family's attorney, Solomon Feldman, did not return calls for
comment yesterday.
According to neighbors, the Rabis left their 123A Bacon St. home around
November 2002 for their native country, the United Arab Emirates.
In
January, NStar shut off the family's electricity and the water pipes burst,
sending an estimated 1.4 million gallons of water into the house. Town
health officials discovered the mold while responding to a neighbor's call
of water spilling from the basement sills.
Health officials found the mold -- both black and wispy-like cobweb --
eating through walls and on a big-screen television. In April 2003, the
Board of Health deemed the house "unfit for human habitation."
The house is not a threat to the neighborhood since the toxic mold,
which can cause serious respiratory illnesses, is contained within its
walls.
The Bacon Street home dropped in value from $509,000 to $295,500, with the
bulk of the value coming from the land. The building is now valued at
$39,500.
White said several contractors have called the town to ask about the
site. Any developer would be required to knock down the building soon, he
said.
"Under the
circumstances, we would work with them and give them a time frame to do it,"
he said.
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