On Earth Day, HGTV star Nicole Curtis shared a heart-pounding experience with her followers on Instagram. Curtis and the crew were inside a home when a demolition began.
Curtis explains the situation, “Years ago, I believed they wouldn’t tear down a house if I was inside it -we heard a crunch & the house shook -this is what we saw when we came downstairs. Greenest House is the one left standing ❤️ #earthday.”
Many fans were surprised at Curtis’ revelation, some sharing their concern:
One commenter wrote, “Please be careful, and don’t put yourself in harms way. I am so sorry this happened, it was a beautiful old home!”
And another added, “😢😢😫😫😳😳😳😲😲😲oh, CRAP!!!! I HOPE NOBODY GOT HURT.”
Curtis usually targets homes like this to revive, but unfortunately, she may have gotten to this one too late. One fan shared some disappointment. “So sad,” she said. “You would surely have made her pretty again…”
Nicole Curtis is a Preservationists
If you’ve seen Curtis’ HGTV show Rehab Addict, you’ll be familiar with her style. She renovates neglected and historic properties in Michigan and Minnesota. Her aim is to preserve the home’s original fixtures and finishes.
In an interview with La Crosse Tribune, Curtis talked about her passion for restoring old American homes:
“My dad’s a walking encyclopedia. My whole family is very into history. I come from Detroit, which is flooded in history, and I’m proud to be an American. Everything has a history to somebody somewhere,” she explained.
Curtis believes that a home could be saved before it’s demolished, and if often bothers her to see homes torn down without an attempt at restoration.
In a post on social media that shows a home in the midst of demolition, Curtis writes, “Waste ….so disgusting. Thanks, @jacobfrey1 @lisabendermpls. I could ask a third-grade class to build a city plan for growth and sustainability, and they would do a better job.”
Some residents in Detroit don’t share Curtis’ passion for restoring old homes. To them, the dilapidated residences are more of an eye sore than an opportunity for restoration.
According to Detroit News, one resident had this to say about her neighborhood, “There’s a lot of abandoned houses in this city that need to be torn down, it’s a safety issue.”
This issue is one of rising concern considering the number of abandoned homes is on the rise in Detroit, per Next City, in 2020:
“In Detroit, vacancies increased 29.5 percent; the city now has 102,330 vacant housing units, or 28 percent of the city’s total housing stock.”
Expect this debate to rage on for a while until the city comes up with a new plan for restoring homes or demolishing them.
Accidentally Demolished Homes Are More Common Than You Might Think
Although we don’t know if Curtis’ rehab was demolished accidentally, but it has happened before.
In 2016 Jasmine Colman of BBC News reported that two homes in Texas were mistakenly knocked down when the demolition crew went to the wrong address. Lindsay Diaz owned one of those homes.
“I was hoping it was some kind of sick joke,” Diaz said. “My neighbor said someone had demolished the house. Her daughter had been yelling at them. But sure enough, when I arrived, it was gone, I was just in complete shock and disbelief, I just thought, ‘Oh my goodness, what else can go wrong?”
Diaz’s house was previously damaged by a tornado only three months prior.
Diaz eventually received an apology from the demolition company but was left pursuing an insurance claim, and paying a mortgage on a home that was no longer standing.
We’re glad Curtis’ situation didn’t result in loss, but based on Diaz’s experience, things could have been much worse.
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