On March 3, a presentation on the status of the Neighborhood Homes Initiative was given to Cincinnati City Council's Vibrant Neighborhoods Committee.
In February 2008, council passed a motion to create the program to put vacant and foreclosed homes back into the hands of homeowners, to be funded with $1.25 million in foreclosure funds appropriated in the 2008 City budget.
The motion named the Greater Cincinnati Redevelopment Partnership, Inc. (GCRP) to administer NHI, and, three months later, council contracted with the Homesteading and Urban Redevelopment Corporation (HURC) to create a business plan.
HURC hired Don Lenz, director of the GCRP, as a consultant to prepare the NHI plan, and throughout the rest of the year a steering committee composed of representatives from community development corporations, lenders, real estate professionals, consultants, and the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati convened to work out the details.
The business plan
The NHI business plan recommends that HURC -- not GCRP -- should initiate the program by April 2009, and should receive the remaining $1.05 million in NHI funding.
HURC would purchase 20 houses per year over a three year period, acting as a wholesaler that would work with community development corporations, urban redevelopment corporations, and private developers to ensure that the properties are demolished, rehabilitated, or put back on the market.
Purchases would be made in neighborhoods with significant vacancies and foreclosures, but with "a reasonable opportunity" for market restoration, such as Neighborhood Enhancement Program and Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) areas.
The plan says that the program's primary property purchase sources should include the surplus inventory of National Community Stabilization Trust, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, local and national banks, and Real Estate Owned (REO) properties.
Sources of additional subsidies could include NSP funds, Federal Home Loan Bank Affordable Housing Program funds, the --> --> -->, and various City programs.
Council has yet to formally approve a program administrator.
Targeted funds
A week ago, councilmembers Chris Monzel and Roxanne Qualls issued a motion that NHI funding should only be used to fund projects in non-NSP neighborhoods.
In a statement accompanying the motion, Monzel ranked those neighborhoods by the number of foreclosures by dwelling unit: South Cumminsville, North Fairmount, Spring Grove Village, Kennedy Heights, and Mount Auburn.
"Using the NHI funds in this manner will result in a far greater benefit to the city as a whole and to each neighborhood which has the capacity to begin dealing with their neighborhood's foreclosure problem," the statement says.
No vote has been taken on the motion.
Previous reading on BC:
Foreclosure initiative presented in Cincinnati council committee (5/14/08)
2 hours ago
6 comments:
This is a good idea, I think the only exception I take is the demolition component. The city is already demolishing too many properties with historic value. I would like to see some oversite by historic preservation to ensure that properties that have significant historic value are saved. In our neighborhood we have a number of foreclosures and I want them saved not razed. Ob the other hand we have to fight to get the non contributing later structures torn down?
Where is that cool house in the photo??
Paul...I think that demolition is seen as a last resort under the proposal. With so much of the costs subsidized (average of $40K per house), it would be very costly to pay for demolition and new construction on the lots.
Todd...That house is at 4550 Erie Avenue in Madisonville, at the corner of Erie and Roe. It has since been rehabbed.
This is great news for my neighborhood, which is on Monzel's list. Thanks for the tip off--I'm making sure the neighborhood development corporation is aware of this!
^ Fantastic! Get the word out!
Thanks again for the information, Kevin. I spoke with the head of my neighborhood's recently resurrected development corporation this weekend and they are working right now to identify 4-5 properties that could be targeted through this program. Either the corporation would acquire and rehab properties or use the funds to assist neighborhood residents who are developers to acquire and rehab the properties.
I'd like to see them also do a survey of neighborhood residents who do the kinds of work that would need to be done (electricians, plumbers, carpenters, landscapers) and direct the work to them as possible to double the benefit: rehabbing homes in the neighborhood and offering work to neighborhood businesses.
Thanks again!
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