It gives one an eerie feeling to drive through the Woodhaven apartment Complex on Rome's Park Drive.  Nearly 200 abandoned homes that were once used as housing for the former Griffiss Air Force Base sit in disrepair.

TSM
TSM
loading...

On Friday, New York State announced it will foot most of the $1.65 million bill to tear down the unsightly housing.  The City of Rome will contribute $150,000 to pay for the demolition.

The area was foreclosed on by the city last year.  A developer had purchased the property from the Air Force, but never completed the renovation of the homes.

Some of the money provided by the state will be used to promote the area to potential developers.  Mayor Jacqueline Izzo told the Rome Sentinel "With it's proxmitiy to the Griffiss Park and the MVCC campus, this will be an important neighborhood mixed use redevelopment project for the City of Rome."

Once the demolition is complete, the gate to Griffiss Business and Technology Park will be reopened.  That will allow direct access to the park and to Rome Free Academy from that neighborhood.

More From Lite 98.7