A vacant house in the 400 block of Race Street may not be an eyesore tolerated by neighbors much longer. Scheduled for demolition, it may now be getting a new lease on life.

Keith Esmail and David Coombs addressed the Catasauqua Borough Council at its meeting Sept. 2 concerning the property at 464 Race St. The property has been the focus of attention by borough officials for years and was tagged as unlivable and structurally deficient late last year, but the borough was unable to make an agreement with the owner to demolish the structure.

"We applied for a grant from the county to help with the demolition costs," said borough Manager Eugene Goldfeder. The county in turn allocated $42,000 for the demolition.

"The property is deemed historical, not of significance, but historical because it is more than 60 years old," said Goldfeder.

Approval to proceed with the demolition was on the meeting agenda.

Esmail and Coombs claimed they have a sales agreement with the owner and asked that demolition be delayed.

"We talked to an engineer and the building has a lot of potential," Esmail said. The duo proposed to make the building structurally sound in three months, but have not started the permit process.

By delaying the demolition, the borough loses the county grant. In the discussion among council members, Councilwoman Jessica Kroope asked if there was a way to redirect the money for the demolition to other borough projects.

"We can ask, but in most instances, the funds will be allocated to some other municipality in the county," Goldfeder said. County Executive Thomas Muller attended the meeting, but made no comment on the grant discussion.

"Most of the grant money may have already been spent getting all the documentation needed [to demolish the building]," said Goldfeder.

His comment on the funds expended could generate some questions on the cost of these endeavors, but none were asked at the meeting.

The borough will send a letter to the county declining the grant funds. Council members voiced some concern that if the deal proposed by Esmail and Coombs falls through, the borough would be stuck with demolition costs. The discussion referenced the financial costs incurred when a building on Crane Street collapsed and the borough is still not able to find the owner.

"We are much better off in this instance. The lot is large and the borough could make money selling it to pay for the demolition costs," said Goldfeder. "I think it is much better to renovate the building than to spend taxpayer money to demolish it."

Councilman Brian McKittrick reiterated to the potential owners that if they could not bring the building up to standards, they would be responsible for demolition costs. Esmail and Coombs acknowledged the cost burden if they failed to complete the project.