Wilson Avenue Demolition Well Underway

Heaps of rubble and concrete are all that remain of dozens of homes along Wilson Avenue in University City.

Demolition is well underway on the handful of homes acquired by the City of University City as part of buyout, the city offered to homeowners following a deadly flood in the area three years ago. In 2008, the , which runs along the back of dozens of homes on Wilson Avenue, unleashed a fatal torrent of floodwaters. Two people were killed.

Longtime U City couple Willie and Nazaree Burns.

"I'm thankful, and I'm glad to be going, given what we've been through with the floodwater," she told Patch on Aug. 17. "We're growing older, and we just needed peace of mind. That's the biggest thing. It's going to give us peace of mind."

The Burns had lived at 1150 Wilson Ave. for 38 years. They relocated to a new home in Florissant, where the Rev. Burns is an associate minister at a church.

As of early December, 23 of 26 homeowners had opted into the voluntary buyout, and 20 of the homes have already closed. Once the homes are demolished, the city plans to turn the land into a greenway.