LORAIN — Mayor Tony Krasienko and Councilman Tim Howard, D-3rd Ward, will be watching the wrecking balls Monday morning as the first of several homes slated for demolition through a federal blight removal program come tumbling down.

At 10 a.m., a vacant, blighted multi-unit residence at 2335 Beech Ave. will be the first property reduced to rubble thanks to Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds.

At least 14 properties have been purchased by the city through the program, which was created to help cities remove blight and/or redevelop problem areas.

“They’re coming down,” Krasienko said of the properties on Beech Avenue and Central Drive. “This is definitely an area that I personally targeted.”

Properties acquired by the city will either be demolished or renovated for resale.

After demolition, the city can either sell the vacant lot or hold it for future use. Either way, several eyesores will be gone, Krasienko said.

“It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “That’s been a troublesome area. There are still some dedicated property owners that have continued to invest money in that area and by removing these nuisances, it will give those residents a chance at a better neighborhood.”

Lorain received a little more than $3 million last spring and has until the end of 2010 to earmark those funds or lose them.

The city also got together with several other area municipalities during the summer and applied as a consortium for nearly $20 million in NSP Phase II funding.

Contact Alicia Castelli at 329-7144 or acastelli@chroniclet.com.