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F STREET “S KELETON” DEMOLISHED BY C OURT O RDER 

The property at 614 24th Street, long referred to as the “Skeleton House” has stood as an empty shell on the corner of 24th and F for years. Community residents concerned not only by the ramshackle appearance but also the health and safety risks inherent in such abandoned properties lodged literally hundreds of complaints with the City through the years.  

The owners successfully used a loophole that allowed them to pull permits for renovations without completing any work for years, until a June 17court order to demolish that put an end to the charade. 

“I am thrilled to see that this first vital step was taken, and now there is a lot of work left to be done” says Greater Golden Hill CDC Executive Director Rosemary Downing. “We will have to 

work with our allies at the City of San Diego, in the community, and with our fellow nonprofits to ensure that the lot will contribute to the continued revitalization of the community”. 

Unfortunately the F Street Skeleton was not the only abandoned structure in Greater Golden Hill. A fourteen year old girl was found murdered in an abandoned house on 29th Street in January, a stark reminder that these abandoned homes are not just eyesores. 

The Greater Golden Hill CDC is working to launch the Community Revitalization Collaborative in order to bring community members together to identify the priorities in our neighborhoods and then tackle them one at a time using all the tools available to us. Tactics may range from pushing for enforcement from Code Compliance and the City Attorney’s Office to collaborative efforts between property owners, community members, the Greater Golden Hill CDC and others to rehabilitate or rebuild the worst properties in the community. “It is important to have proactive strategies in a time when foreclosures are leaving more and more structures abandoned” Downing says, “and we will need help creating and implementing those strategies”. For more information or to get involved please contact 

info@goldenhillcdc.org

Picture 1 Caption: Above: Community residents and members of the press gather to celebrate the long awaited end to the 

presence of the “Skeleton House” in our neighborhood.

Picture 2 Caption: Left: Councilmembers Ben Hueso of District 8 and 

Tony Young of District 4 and Co-Chair of the Community 

Reinvestment Task Force address the crowd. 

Many thanks to Councilmembers Hueso and Young 

and their staff for their hard work, especially Council 

Representative Diana Jurado-Sainz who made removing 

this blight a priority.