They're two of the saddest properties in town - a pair of slouching houses, overgrown with bushes, trees and weeds.
But before long, a new owner will have a chance to salvage the properties and build something new. As of the Sept. 12 Fulton City Council meeting, 607 and 609 Bluff St. are in the process of being declared surplus property.
"I think most people are familiar with these properties," City Administrator Bill Johnson said during the meeting.
Located just up the block from the former Calvary Baptist Church, the two properties are flanked by perfectly respectable family homes. They've been in a state of decay for many years and are gradually caving in under the weight of the seasons.
Bill 1565, which passed its first reading Tuesday, will authorize the city to sell the properties. Both are zoned as residential.
"Dennis (Houchins, planning and protective services director for Fulton) has talked to two interested entities already," Johnson said. "The city is brainstorming ways to dispose of these properties."
The houses are unsalvageable and will have to be destroyed by whoever purchases the properties - as they contain asbestos, the bill for demolition is too high for the city to foot.
"It'll be good to get rid of those old houses," said Mayor Lowe Cannell, who regularly drives past the eyesore.
A stormwater pipe runs between the two properties, so even if the same person buys both, they'll have to leave the easement intact - meaning it's impossible to combine the two and build a mansion in the middle.
City council members bandied around several ideas about how to best sell or otherwise be rid of the properties, not to mention other nuisance properties around town.
"We could gift some future properties to Habitat for Humanity," Ward 3 council member John Braun said.
Jeff Stone, of Ward 2, brought up the possibility of creating a community land trust in partnership with a local nonprofit.
The bill will pass to its second reading at Tuesday evening's meeting.