{"id":189295,"date":"2026-03-04T01:49:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T01:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/189295\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T01:49:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T01:49:08","slug":"west-side-problem-property-demolished-across-from-zavala-elementary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/189295\/","title":{"rendered":"West Side problem property demolished across from Zavala Elementary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Police say the house had become a hub for drug use and criminal activity, creating growing safety concerns for families and students in the area.<\/p>\n

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas \u2014 It took about 30 minutes to tear down a long-standing problem property on Corpus Christi\u2019s west side.<\/p>\n

The Corpus Christi Police Department teamed up with Ram-Bro Contracting to demolish an abandoned and dilapidated home on the 1000 block of Francesca Drive directly across the street from Zavala Elementary School.<\/p>\n

Police say the house had become a hub for drug use and criminal activity, creating growing safety concerns for families and students in the area.<\/p>\n

Even after the home was boarded up and posted with no trespassing signs, people continued finding ways inside.<\/p>\n

Officers say they had repeatedly responded to calls at the address. What stood there, they said, was more than just an eyesore, it was a safety risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis location has been a nexus for drug use and transience and other problems in this neighborhood,\u201d said Sr. Officer Javier Cantu with CCPD.<\/p>\n

Police and city officials say the property had already been ordered for demolition, but budget constraints left it sitting in limbo. With no city funding available this year for tearing down dilapidated homes, officers and code compliance officials had to think creatively.<\/p>\n

\u201cDilapidated or blighted structures, they are across the city right now. We have approximately 60 that are slated for demolition.<\/a> They are pending as we look for ways to accomplish that task,\u201d said Tracey Cantu with the city of Corpus Christi. \u201cSo we sought out some volunteers.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when Ram-Bro Contracting stepped in, donating its time, manpower, and equipment at no cost to taxpayers. A typical demolition of a home like this can cost around $2,500.<\/p>\n

Before it came down, 3News was given a look inside the structure, what police describe as an \u201cattractive nuisance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo when there’s a structure that exists like this, it invites all types of bad elements whether that’s, you know, a criminal element,\u201d Cantu said. \u201cIt just becomes a health and safety issue for the neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Its location directly across from Zavala Elementary heightened concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt presents a curiosity for students that are crossing through this area to get to school,\u201d Tracey Cantu said. \u201cBut it’s dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThankfully, Ram-Bro and the owner was graciously willing to help us, the city out, and get rid of this unsightly property,\u201d said Officer Cantu.<\/p>\n

Assistant Police Chief David Blackmon said efforts like this are about more than demolition.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnytime we can come together with the community and proactively and positively affect change in the community then it’s something that we look forward to,\u201d Blackmon said.<\/p>\n

For Ram-Bro Contracting, the decision was about giving back.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means a lot because I know after doing this, the neighborhood’s gonna be safer and it’s also gonna be safer for the kids that are across the street,\u201d said Ricardo Ramon Jr. with Ram-Bro. \u201cLess drugs and some prime areas here that we’re gonna get rid of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now reduced to rubble, the property\u2019s removal marks a first step toward a safer, stronger neighborhood.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Police say the house had become a hub for drug use and criminal activity, creating growing safety concerns…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":189296,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[155,157,156],"class_list":["post-189295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi-headlines","tag-corpus-christi-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189295\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}