KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI -- Seventy blighted houses, some dens of crime and drug activity, will be an eyesore no longer.

A $1.26 million grant will pay for the demolition of up to 70 foreclosed homes across Kalamazoo County, 28 of which have been identified in the City of Kalamazoo, in the next 18 months. A majority of the sites are in low-income neighborhoods where most of the residents' wealth is tied into their house, so clearing vacant homes helps raise property values in addition to solving safety concerns.

"When someone's biggest asset is taking a dive it has a disproportionately negative affect on their financial health," said Kelly Clarke, executive director of the Kalamazoo County Land Bank Authority. "We feel like it's important to get these homes down. Our hope, through the demolition program, is to halt the decline."

In a 2007 study of Flint, it was determined that abandoned properties reduced the value of homes within 500 feet by more than 2 percent.

Though Clarke said Kalamazoo does not have the volume of abandoned properties as cities such as Detroit or Flint, she was happy that the Michigan State Housing Development Authority understands the needs of the county. Kalamazoo was given the third-largest award, after Calhoun County and the City of Saginaw.

As they sit, the sites become more blighted and more likely to become sites of illegal activity, Clarke said. Two locations in the city and another in Kalamazoo Township were identified as meth contaminated, while another in the township is associated with drug activity.

Neighbors have been asking for years to demolish 1905 Union St., as it has become a home to rodents that spread across the neighborhood. Another home on 643 Lake St. is flooded and adjacent to the Farmers Market.

Thus far, 38 properties have been identified but more will be added in 2017 after foreclosures are assessed at the end of March.

There are 28 in the City of Kalamazoo, including 12 in the Edison neighborhood, 12 in the Northside neighborhood, and one home in each of the Burke Acres, Oakwood, Fairmount and Eastside neighborhoods.

An invitation for bids was opened on Sept. 19, which stipulates 30 homes must be demolished by March 30, 2017.

Demolitions are expected to begin next year.

"(Land Authorities) provide opportunities for a community to decide how it wants to look moving forward," she said. "Because we have these opportunities to rethink our spaces, there is a whole new creativity that is often times coming from the local community from the ground up."

Vacant properties are also among the strongest predictors of assault and

In 2010, the city and Kalamazoo County Land Bank were awarded $15 million to place abandoned, foreclosed or vacant property back into productive use. The city was since been able to rehabilitate and sell 43 homes as of last year.