Bringing Bogotá's Abandoned Buildings Back to Life??

This building along Ave. Caracas in Teusaquillo is prime property. Why has it been vacant and abandoned for years?

This ornate old building on Calle 12b and Carrera 4
must have a storied history, but has been
abandoned for years.

Eyesores, habitats for rats and criminals, canvases for graffiti artists - the many vacant and abandoned buildings in Bogotá are all of these things. But some are also prime real estate decaying elegantly into abandonment. Bogotá's city government now has plans to auction abandoned buildings off to whoever will buy and put them to use.

But many of these old buildings have historical status, and so any owner will be required to renovate and restore them, not knock them down. And, if these buildings become valuable, you can be sure that alleged owners will appear to demand their share.

This historic corner building on Ave. Septima was grand once....

This sort of art deco building, just a few blocks from Plaza Bolivar, was an electoral office, and, previously, perhaps a theatre or a fancy hotel. Altho it appears vacant and abandoned, I saw someone looking out of s second-story window.

Posters give color to the unused first floor of this building, also on Ave. Septima.

Somebody wants to tear down this elegant old building on Caracas Ave. and replace it with an office tower. 

An ornate old building on Calle 13, near the old train station. 

Paint peels away on an old building on Calle 13, converted into a public bathroom.  

A building on 26th St. just west of the cemeteries provides space for colorful graffiti, and a backdrop for this bicyclist.

Someone used the building's wall to suggest that Congress is composed of furry, four-legged creatures. 

This is a historic building on Carrera 4 in the middle of La Candelaria. Abandoned for years and falling down, year or two ago, someone starting renovating it, but then stopped. Since then, graffiti artists have found it a good place to do their thing. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours