A new chapter is unfolding for one of the neighborhood’s most notorious eyesore properties. The dilapidated three-decker at 97 Mt. Ida Rd. has been sold to a Quincy builder after years of legal battles had left city officials and neighbors alike throwing up their hands.

Malcolm Barber, who owns buildings and has worked on projects across Dorchester and South Boston, according to deed and permit records, purchased the Mt. Ida property for $665,000 on April 24. He did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

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The peeling, blighted structure, badly damaged over the years by fire and water, was first condemned back in 2003. Its former owner, James Dickey, fought the city’s Inspectional Services Department in various courts for years to prevent authorities from demolishing the house.

A receiver, Stuart Schrier, appointed by Judge Marylou Muirhead of the Boston Division of the Massachusetts Housing Court, had crews working to clean up the property while the Supreme Judicial Court determined whether or not he could sell the property.

Neighbors like John and Jennifer Coyne, who moved into a three-decker two doors away just after 97 Mt. Ida was condemned, have been watching the repairs hopefully. “We are very happy,” John Coyne said in an email. He added, “The fact that the city and state were able to finally get this done is amazing. I look forward to seeing what will be there next. There are already people at the property working on it. But, the pessimist in me will wait until something new is there before I celebrate.”

Barber’s bid for the property got the go-ahead in March, but the deed could not be recorded until the SJC’s April ruling that Schrier could go through with the sale. Dickey represented himself in court throughout the saga, which wound its way through Housing Court, Superior Court, and the SJC. At one point, Dickey petitioned the US Supreme Court to get involved, which it declined.

His most recent appeal was unsuccessful in part because he created an LLC for the property and then insisted on representing it in court, despite state laws requiring corporations to be represented in court by a licensed attorney, which he is not.

The house’s troubled legal history dates back to the early 2000s, but the story reached dire straits on Aug. 30, 2011, when an early afternoon fire gutted the unoccupied house, causing an estimated $300,000 in damages. It has been considered uninhabitable since then.

Demolition was scheduled in 2015, with the mayor’s backing, but Dickey appealed to the State Building Code Appeals Board and received a temporary restraining order. That was the incorrect venue for the matter, a visibly frustrated Superior Court Judge Bonnie H. MacLeod determined at the time.

In the years following, Dickey and Inspectional Services continued to clash. He repeatedly filed suits claiming ISD and Housing Court judges were targeting him as part of a conspiracy to steal property from black homeowners in Dorchester. Courts rejected the claims, in part because Dickey is white.

Schier took on receivership of a property where cat food left around the property was attracting rats, stagnant water was posing a mosquito risk, the main stairwell was structurally unsound, and the walls throughout were charred and torn up.

Davida Andelman, who lives nearby, said she has mixed feelings about the sale, though she is glad to see a resolution of sorts. “The major problem was perpetuated by James Dickey,” Andelman said in an email. “The city, courts at all levels, tried to address the problem for an excessive amount time. Resolution only came when the court system said it had had enough.”

But Schrier’s mandate to take the highest bid, Adelman said, could have consequences down the line for the picturesque neighborhood overlooking Ronan Park. “There is no question this will create housing which will be unattainable for first time home buyers or those looking for an affordable rental,” she said. “Unfortunately, the city, the non-profit housing community, nor private developers with a conscience were interested in being a part of the process of keeping 97 Mt. Ida affordable. This scenario needs to change if there is any hope of changing what is happening to this part of the community — gentrification and displacement.”

“I think that the public in general has very unclear vision of what it takes to deal with these properties,” Jennifer Coyne said. “I have no doubt that the city inspectors and the like have a huge pile on their desks of properties just like this one. They face nothing but an uphill battle in the court system.

“Recognizing that the courts and laws are in place to protect owners over neighbors is important to shed light on so residents understand the system,” she said.

Adam Gaffin of Universal Hub contributed to this report.

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