HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Inside an abandoned building on North Main Street, rows of metal shelves advertising a liquidation sale are gathering dust.

“Since I was younger it was always abandoned,” said Gael Gutiérrez, who lives near the building. “I’ve never seen it working or anything like that, so it’s been like that for a while.”

The building is not only abandoned. 13 Investigators found it to be one of more than 170 buildings throughout the city that are considered dangerous, according to the city of Houston.

13 Investigators visited several buildings that city inspectors deemed dangerous and found dilapidated apartment complexes, a burned-out restaurant, and even an old school still owned by the Houston Independent School District.

Why are so many of these buildings deemed dangerous allowed to remain in poor condition for years? 13 Investigate tonight at 10 on ABC13.

For updates on this story, follow Kevin Ozebek on Facebook, Twitter and instagram.

Contact 13 Investigate

Do you have any advice? A problem to solve? Submit a tip below. If you don’t have a photo or document to include, simply press “skip upload” and submit the details. (On mobile devices? You can open our form by tapping here.)