Local officials praise latest round of anti-blight loans
RICHMOND, Ind. (AP) - Municipal officials across the state are praising the state's latest awarding of $4.3 million in loans to remove abandoned, blighted properties in seven communities and three counties.
The western Indiana city of Richmond will receive another $1.3 million, Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann announced this week. It received $2 million last year.
"This is good news. It will allow us to take down a total of 138 homes that, once they are gone, will really improve this community," Mayor Sally Hutton told the Palladium-Item.
Richmond received one of the largest amounts in the latest round of funding, along with Kokomo, which will receive $1.75 million. For Richmond, the additional money means the city will be able to remove 56 more properties, said Tony Foster, director of Richmond's Metropolitan Development Department.
The money comes to the city as a forgivable loan. Targeted structures must be uninhabitable, beyond repair and not listed on any historic registers. They are then purchased from willing sellers and removed. After the demolition, communities will try to sell or give the property to surrounding owners or work with agencies, such as Habitat for Humanity, to put the properties back into use.
Foster said 82 houses will be purchased and removed with the first round of funding. The Richmond Board of Public Works and Safety on Thursday night approved contracts with appraisal and title companies for the program. He said he hopes demolition begins within 90 days.
"We have been saying for a number of years that we need more resources to tackle the blight problem in our community and this program provides some of those resources," he said. "Government moves slowly so we still don't know exactly when we will start demolitions. But once we start the process, we will see demolitions happening continuously for the next 18 months."
Kokomo's latest funding brings its total anti-blight funding to more than $3 million, with which it plans to take down about 140 homes.
"We have been aggressive in the past about addressing unsafe structures in order to make the City of Kokomo's residential neighborhoods safer and a more attractive," Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight told WISH-TV.
The state's Blight Elimination Program has made $75 million in federal funds available to communities and counties. The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, which administers the program, estimates 4,000 blighted or abandoned homes in Indiana will be removed through the program.