CHICAGO -- Nearly a quarter of Detroit's buildings suffer from blight, and it would take $2 billion to fix the problem across the city, according to a report released Tuesday.
The bankrupt city has nearly 85,000 blighted structures and vacant lots, and about 40,000 of the structures should be demolished, said the 341-page report, titled "Every Neighborhood Has a Future ... And it Doesn't Include Blight."
Detroit has roughly 380,000 parcels, according to the Blight Removal Task Force, which unveiled the report Tuesday at a press conference with Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr and Mayor Mike Duggan.
The goal is to rid the city of the blighted structures within five years.
The task force estimated it would cost $850 million to remove all of the commercial and residence blight in the neighborhoods. Removing structures that show signs of future blight, including large commercial buildings, across the entire city could cost up to $1.9 billion.
The city has targeted $456 million that can be used for blight removal. That includes $88 million from various federal programs. Orr's plan of debt adjustment to exit bankruptcy features another $368 million to fight blight. Some of the money comes from long-term bonds.
"For the first time in this city's history, you have a comprehensive proposal to analyze all the properties in 114 square miles of city," Orr said.
The Detroit Land Bank Authority is charged with managing the city's blighted and foreclosed structures. It is in the midst of a high-profile effort to demolish rundown buildings and auction off others to new owners. The authority plans to post notices on up to 100 blighted structures a week, and take title if the owners don't respond.
Created by the Obama Administration in 2013, the task force is headed up by Quicken Loans chairman Dan Gilbert, Detroit Public Schools Foundation President Glenda Smith, and U-Snap-Brac Director Linda Smith. It sent out 75 two-person teams to record every blighted structure in the city over the last eight months.
