Thirteen structures in disrepair throughout the city will be demolished as part of the third phase of a cleanup effort that started in 2009.

“There wasn’t anything good going on in these abandoned houses,” Greenville Mayor Dexter McLendon said. “This is just another way of cleaning our town up.”

The project is funded through a $250,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) that was distributed through the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA). The city’s matching portion of the grant was $62,500.

City building inspector Eddie Anderson said phases one and two of the project resulted in 51 structures being torn down. Of the original $312,500 allocated for the project, $119,556 remains to finish phase three.

McLendon said that if any money remains after this phase, more structures could be targeted for a fourth run of demolitions.

“Hopefully, once we get these lots cleaned up, someone else will be able to come in and develop and build more houses,” McLendon said.