The borough of Tamaqua is seeking bids to demolish four blighted properties.

“They’ve been neighborhood eyesores and it is time to take them down,” said borough Manager Kevin Steigerwalt.

The properties are 517 Washington St., 130 Clay St., 300-302 Race St. and 161 Penn St. According to a legal advertisement published in Wednesday’s Times News, bids will be received until 2 p.m. Oct. 14 and awarded Oct. 18.

Steigerwalt said that the borough will use Community Development Block Grant funding for the projects. If necessary, he said, it can supplement those funds with an additional demolition grant he successfully applied for.

After bids are awarded, Steigerwalt said demolition could begin as early as Nov. 7.

“It took some time to get to this point, but now they are out there for bid. We’ve gone through the whole process needed to get to the demolition,” he said.

Steigerwalt said that the properties have been in disrepair for some time.

“These buildings have been blighted for years. It’s not just something that happened overnight. These buildings have been in rough shape for years, maybe because of absentee landlords or deceased landlords or people just walking away from them,” he said.

The Penn Street property had a fire years ago and wasn’t rehabilitated.

“It takes a little time to get funding and do the necessary code enforcement work” until the properties can be added to demolition lists, Steigerwalt said.