As the Commonwealth looks to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday next year, some of its oldest buildings— maybe not 250 years old, but close— are still standing. But others are in decay.
“These buildings have been abandoned; they’ve become health hazards in many ways," Lynchburg Delegate Wendell Walker told Radio IQ. He was talking about his legislation that sailed through the 2025 General Assembly session. It allows localities to charge fines for buildings deemed derelict in the hopes that property owners will demolish or fix them up.
“The purpose of this bill was to send a message that, look, ‘you need to fix it, or we’re going to condemn the building and then tear it down,” Walker said.
Walker, a Republican, admitted a confrontation with property rights isn’t usually on his party's wish list, but he’s seen downtown Lynchburg shine after older buildings were rehabbed. And after a recent fire in an older derelict building that caused massive damage to a local free clinic, he’d had enough.
“We try to be a pro-business community out here," he said. "It’s hard to rehabilitate some of these old buildings so the best thing is to just come in and take ‘em down.”
Walker got support in his effort from Virginia First Cities, a group that represents the Commonwealth’s oldest localities from the mountains to the coast. Legislative Director Laura Bateman said derelict buildings have been a priority since the group formed more than 25 years ago.
“The preponderance of derelict and blighted buildings really stunts the development of our cities,” Bateman told Radio IQ.
Bateman noted Walker’s effort succeeded with little pushback, despite Virginia’s history of favoring property rights. She thinks that means folks are ready to address the long running problem.
“When a bill comes through the legislature and is signed by the governor without a lot of amendments," she said. "it kind of tells you they’re on to something.”
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
