CALUMET – At least one building and possibly two in Calumet will be torn down thanks to funding from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.

The $83,000 Community Development Block Grant from MSHDA is for houses in Marquette and Houghton counties considered to be blighted, according to Houghton County Treasurer Kathleen Beattie.

The two houses planned for demolition are on Pine and Seventh streets, Beattie said. However, there is a delay on getting approval for demolition of the Seventh Street building, because representatives of the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) think it might have been a boarding house during the copper mining era, so it would have historic significance for the village.

Beattie said the two houses set for demolition were foreclosed due to nonpayment of taxes. That process involves first offering them to the state. If the state doesn’t want them, then the local government in which they’re located is given the opportunity to bid on them. If the local government doesn’t want them, they go to tax auction. If they don’t sell at that auction, they are offered to the local government for free. If the local government still doesn’t want them, they go to a second auction. If they don’t go after all that, they are condemned for demolition.

Beattie said the ideal situation for tax-foreclosed buildings would be for someone to buy and renovate them.

“We don’t want to demolish everything that comes through the foreclosure process,” she said.

Beattie said the Seventh Street building has mold and other problems with decay, including a tree growing on the roof. If the roof collapses, water will get into the interior and destroy the building. It would be cheaper to tear it down now than to wait until the roof collapses.

She intended to open the bids for demolition of both houses Thursday. She was also hoping to hear soon from SHPO about the Seventh Street house.

Calumet Village President Dave Geisler said he appreciates that Beattie is doing something about blighted structures in the village for security and aesthetic reasons.

“It improves the appearance of the community,” he said.

Geisler said Calumet has been dealing with unused and blighted buildings for years, and there are still many needing attention. Some of the unoccupied buildings are still in good shape and could be salvaged.

For the empty buildings in the village still in good condition, Geisler said it’s important they stay watertight.

“Once water enters a building, that’s a death sentence,” he said.

There has been interest shown in some village buildings from people outside the area, Geisler said. However, it’s important those people actually make improvements, rather than letting them deteriorate further and go through another tax foreclosure.