MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Community leaders and residents of Hickory Hill came together to demand trash be picked up at the abandoned Super K-Mart.
People in the area say the parking lot has become a dumping ground. Trash goes from behind the building to several yards away.
Patricia Rogers, a community leader, said people are fed up and want this problem to be taken care of by the property owner, who allowed the vacant area to become an eyesore.
“I don’t know who he is, but whoever he is, he’s a lowlife businessman,” Rogers said. “And he needs to be held accountable.”
The former Super K-Mart now sits vacant, boarded up, and overrun by weeds and trash. Rogers said she has noticed this problem for a long time and now the situation is getting worse.
WREG-TV has noticed this problem too. Last month, we reached out to the city, after receiving complaints from people who live in the area.
At that time, a city spokesperson said code enforcement had issued a violation order on the property, and the owner had been a no-show in environmental court.
Nearly a month later, the spokesperson saidthere are now several violation orders on the property. Also, we were told private property owners are responsible for preventing dumping and littering on their grounds.
After doing a 3-1-1 search, we found the lot shows two complaints: one for a “junky yard” and another filed under code miscellaneous, both complaints were closed Aug. 17. According to commercial property records, Big Rock LLC with a P.O. Box listed in Madison, Wisconsin, owns the vacant lot.
Rogers said this eyesore property is making the community look bad.
“You know this is the kind of situation that deteriorates our neighborhoods and our communities,” Rogers said. “They’ve given him ample time to actually make a difference and clean up his property.”
The city said they have communicated with the owner’s attorney, and they’re now due in court Sept. 21.
