Can I get an Amen from the Hallelujah chorus?

Prescott Realty will demolish two ugly vacant apartment complexes on Skillman and begin the process of reconstruction on that site. The White Rock Trail and Toscana communities were in pretty bad shape in 2008 before they were shuttered, and they’ve only gotten worse after sitting empty and untended since then.

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WFAA quotes Vance Detwiler, Prescott’s president, as saying the apartments will come down by June and construction of 370 new units – 100 more than before – will begin immediately. The new 4-story buildings, with a value of $45 million, will open in 2014.

The new development will be just south of the new LH Town Center and will have direct access to Dallas’ hike and bike trail system which stretches past White Rock Lake and throughout Dallas.

Lake Highlands residents have groused for years about the eyesores in the 6800 block of Skillman, including broken windows, falling down fences and holes in the roof. Recently, the focus on personal safety in light of sexual assaults in the neighborhood has led folks to question every possible nesting place for crime and criminals.

Prescott did not say why they chose to tear the units down now but said the economic downturn was the reason for the delay.

You can see the WFAA piece, including quotes from Councilman Jerry Allen and former Councilman Bill Blaydes, here.