As he wraps up his time leading the Motor City, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is also ready to share the progress and lasting impact of one of his biggest campaign promises.

"I ran on a platform that every neighborhood had a future and that we could erase blight," said Duggan.

Before the launch of the residential blight removal program in 2014, the Land Bank owned 47,000 abandoned houses across the city, with data showing that one in every five houses within the city limits was vacant.

At the time, crews were demolishing houses at a rate of 25 homes per week, with leaders saying it would have taken the city 32 years to eliminate the problem.

"We wanted to set the highest environmental standards for demolition that had been seen in the country because the magnitude of the project had to be done in a way that protected the residents," said Duggan.

Heading into the new year, Duggan says the land bank owns less than 1,000 abandoned homes, with the goal of getting the number close to zero by the end of 2026.

"Since 2020, we've actually sold more vacant houses in this city than we have knocked down. That was a tipping point," said Duggan.

A major concern for Proposal N is the quality and safety of the backfill soil.

Duggan says teams focused on removing any contaminated soil, immediately replacing it with clean backfill, and charging the responsible contractor with the added costs.

"If we were going to make sure that the backfill coming into the neighborhood could be enforced, that means that we had to set up a new system, and we did that," said Duggan.

Looking ahead, Duggan says there is still $15 million in the Proposal N Closeout Fund, which he hopes will prevent any negative impacts on the city's finances as the program reaches its final stages.