The vacant Bangor home that burned Tuesday is one of five unoccupied buildings owned by the same man, who owes nearly $73,000 to the city in back taxes.
James Butler Jr., of Hampden, owns five buildings and an empty plot of land in Bangor. Four of the buildings are listed on the city’s vacant list, while the fifth appears unoccupied and in a state of disrepair.
While the city has made strides in slashing the number of vacant properties by imposing larger fees on owners, Tuesday’s fire at 67 Lincoln St. is an example of the challenges it continues to face. Owners — including out-of-state banks — allow the buildings to sit empty for years, creating safety hazards and restricting available housing.
A Bangor Daily News reporter found Butler’s properties in varying states of disrepair on Tuesday. He owns 72, 181 and 424 State St., 125 Warren St., and 67 Lincoln St, as well as an empty lot in the 100 block of Buck Street.
He owes the city nearly $73,000 combined in back taxes for 72 and 181 State St., according to the city’s treasurer department. He owed roughly $84,000 in 2021 when he unsuccessfully ran for Bangor City Council.
When reached by phone Thursday, Butler told a BDN reporter he would call back. He did not call back and an additional call went unanswered.
There are 76 known vacant properties in the city, which decrease the amount of housing in an already tight market, city solicitor David Szewczyk said. There is a state-wide demand for housing after years of under production.
“We have a housing shortage and it’s not good for the city to have a whole whole bunch of vacant residential buildings,” Szewczyk said.
Properties are added to the vacant list in a variety of ways, including when residents make complaints and code enforcement is notified. Once a property is vacant, the owner has 60 days to obtain a permit and pay the initial $500 registration fee. The permit is valid for six months, after which fees double for each renewal until they reach $4,000. A vacant property owner will eventually pay $8,000 annually if it sits empty for years.
Registration is a long-standing requirement from the city, Szewczyk said. City council increased the permit fee in 2023.
The city tries to help property owners navigate the requirements and ordinances to bring the buildings up to code and get them off the vacant list, Szewczyk said.
Bangor has removed 26 properties from the vacant list this year, which means they’re either no longer vacant or have been issued a certificate of occupancy. Roughly the same number were added to the list, Szewczyk said. There are 49 registered buildings and 27 unregistered on the list.
Butler’s properties at 72 State St., 181 State St. and 67 Lincoln St. were initially registered May 1. Those registrations lapsed in November, Szewczyk said. The house at 125 Warren St. was registered July 22.
The property at 424 State St. is not on the city’s vacant or placarded lists, Warren said. The home appeared unoccupied when a BDN reporter visited Tuesday. Multiple windows were broken, shingles were missing, paint was badly peeling and the landscaping was overgrown.
The former dentist office at 72 State St. was also placarded by the city in 2017. That means the city found code violations or other problems which make the property not safe for people to live or work, Szewczyk said.
Butler bought the building in 2006 and it has been empty since at least 2013 and the city condemned it in 2017.
The house at 67 Lincoln St. caught fire before 5 a.m. Tuesday and was badly damaged. No one was inside when the fire department arrived. The home was vacant and placarded by the city in 2017, with no water or sewer connected to it. The foundation on two sides of the house are unstable, according to city records.
The Bangor Fire Department treats all houses as occupied during a fire, because there’s a chance people could be living in it, Assistant Fire Chief Chandler Corriveau said Tuesday.
Bangor had another fire at a vacant building that killed three homeless men on Dec. 4, 2021.
