Three years since funds were first allocated to the city’s blight remediation program, officials on Wednesday watched the first purchased home be demolished. Through the program, the city aims to buy blighted property, demolish or rehabilitate any existing structure on it and market it to redevelopers to build affordable housing. The city has identified roughly 350 blighted properties and contacted more 330 owners to inquire about selling the properties. One of the other four tested positive for asbestos, meaning it will need to be abated before it is demolished. The program has stalled several times since 2022, Irby said, mostly due to delayed communication with federal grant officers.