By Josh Weinhold, Truth Staff
jweinhold@etruth.com
ELKHART -- Thanks to a $2.25 million federal grant, the city plans to tear down more than 60 dilapidated homes and repair another 15 vacant ones over the next 18 months.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved the city's plan last week. The money comes as part of a federal neighborhood stabilization program created under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act passed last year.
The bill directs about $4 billion in funding to areas hit hard by home foreclosures and property abandonment.
"The idea is it removes the blight, increasing the marketability of the neighborhood," said Crystal Welsh, the city's community development manager. "And vacant lots offer opportunities for new housing."
The houses tabbed for demolition or rehabilitation will be in a large area downtown, stretching from Lusher Avenue on the south to the St. Joseph River on the north, and from Nappanee Street on the west to Goshen Avenue on the east.
According to the city's plan:
* $750,000 will be spent to purchase, at a reduced price, about 15 homes for repair. The properties will receive limited renovations, then resold to low-income individuals, families or local agencies.
* $520,000 will be used to demolish about 65 "substandard" housing units. The city is asking residents to submit suggestions for properties to be torn down, especially ones considered to be "blighted or nuisance" buildings. Buildings should start coming down around early summer, Welsh said.
* $900,000 will buy about 60 lots for redevelopment. Some will be transferred to nearby property owners, 10 lots will be sold to lower-income households, and others will be kept by the city for recreational areas or sold to developers for low-income housing units.
In addition to cleaning up neighborhoods and offering affordable housing, Welsh said the city is hopeful the plan will create additional employment as well.
The houses fit for demolition will be "deconstructed," a process that involves recycling as much of the building materials as possible. No local contractors do that type of work, Welsh said, so there's a good chance an outside company will receive the bid, then train local workers on how to do the tasks.
"The work is more labor-intensive, which means more jobs," Welsh said. "We like that idea a lot."