ANDERSON — The city is receiving an additional $1.26 million from the state to tackle the blight of abandoned homes scattered throughout the community.
Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann announced the additional award Monday. It’s part of the state’s Blight Elimination Program. Three other cities also received money. Daleville received a $43,000 award and was the only town on the list.
“The additional round of funding allows for further progress to take place in these communities as they are able to transform blighted homes into functional revitalized space that will once again contribute to the local economy,” Ellspermann said in a prepared statement.
Earlier this year, Anderson received $1.4 million and identified 69 abandoned houses as eligible for destruction. Alexandria and Elwood also received $355,000 and $625,000, respectively, to tear down abandoned houses.
No houses have actually been torn down yet, however, according to Tonya Turnley, community development administrator for the city of Anderson.
That’s due in part to program standards, which require communities receiving money to work with nonprofits such as Habitat for Humanity, local churches or the Anderson Redevelopment Commission and St. Vincent Anderson Regional Hospital.
“One of our biggest challenges is finding a lot of the original property owners,” Turnley said. Some have turned over multiple times at the county’s annual tax sale, and tracking owners down has sometimes proved difficult.
Even when found, there’s no guarantee owners will agree to participate. Some still have renovation plans, others won’t agree to the payment they will receive. Turnley said $6,000 is the top-end that can be paid to an owner for a dilapidated house.
Once properties are cleared, however, they can be offered to adjacent property owners, become community gardens, redeveloped by organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, or sold to private entities.
Money for the program actually comes from the federal government, but is administered by the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority. The agency estimates that $4,000 abandoned homes in Indiana will be demolished using the Blight Elimination program.
The ultimate goal of removing blighted properties is to revitalize neighborhood and stabilize property values, said U.S. Treasury Deputy Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin in a prepared statement.