Latest news with #StrongCommunitiesProgram
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Peoria City Council approves $475,000 grant to demolish more vacant homes
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — An abandoned home demolition program in Peoria is getting nearly another half million dollars in state funding. Peoria City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the $475,000 grant from the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA). It's the second round of funding for the Strong Communities Program. Joe Dulin, the city's community development director, said they demolished more than 90 blighted homes in the first round to make way for new affordable housing in the East Bluff and the Southside. This includes Church View Gardens, the Southside's first new housing complex in more than 20 years. Dulin said the additional funding will allow them to demolish 40 more homes. But there was debate among city councilmembers about what kind of developers they should work with. 'But I wish we would have a little bit more compassion for what really built our neighborhood and instead of how do we get the investors from Jersey to come here and make investments until their tax credits run out and the place becomes a disaster,' said At-Large City Councilman John Kelly. First District City Councilwoman Denise Jackson said rental developments should also be on the table to increase access to housing. 'You live in a community that has developed this infamous distinction as one of the poorest zip codes in the country, you have so much poverty as a result of years and years of disinvestment. And you come to the realization that folks living in this area, some of which are not in position to purchase a home,' she said. The Strong Communities Program is a state initiative that provides grant funding to local government agencies to address affordable housing needs and revitalize communities. The program is funded by the Rebuild Illinois capital plan and managed by IDHA. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Dixon will get portion of $154,000 state grant to address abandoned residential properties
Jun. 10—DIXON — The Dixon City Council has approved an agreement with Lee County that allows access to previously awarded grant funds to be used for rehabilitating or demolishing abandoned properties. The city and the county began working with the Illinois Housing Development Authority in 2023, with a $154,000 grant awarded through the Strong Communities Program. The state program provides funds to local governments to purchase, rehabilitate and/or demolish abandoned residential properties, Lee County Administrator Jeremy Englund said. For Dixon, the goal is for this grant project to be one small part of its overall plan to address the city's housing shortage, Dixon City Manager Danny Langloss said. In Dixon, the city has identified five properties to include in its portion of the grant, which has been earmarked at $75,000, Langloss said. The properties include 807 W. Second St., 502 W. Seventh St. and three houses in the 500 block of West First Street. ExpandAutoplay Image 1 of 3 Property at 502 W. Seventh St. in Dixon has been condemned by the city and is slated for demolition. (Alex T. Paschal) The city has already obtained ownership of the properties on West Second Street and West Seventh Street, is planning for demolition and hopes to go out for bid on them next month, Langloss said. Officials also plan on redeveloping those lots by putting out a request for housing developers, he said. As for the three houses in the 500 block of West First Street, they're currently owned by the Lee County Industrial Development Association, which will be transitioning ownership to the city, Langloss said. From a county perspective, Englund said, the goal is to provide funding to its municipalities to help them deal with — whether that's demolishing or revitalizing — abandoned properties within its city limits that are having negative effects on their communities. Besides Dixon, the county has also been working with Amboy and Franklin Grove to identify properties and allocate funds for their demolition and/or revitalization, Englund said. To facilitate the use of the grant, several steps needed to be completed, such as identifying properties, ensuring those properties qualify and obtaining ownership of the properties. Each property had to meet many eligibility factors, including that they have no historical significance, Langloss said. What the council approved at its June 2 meeting was another one of those steps, Langloss said. The agreement establishes the county as the lead agency and provides what the grant "regulations call a certificate of authority," which allows the county to "essentially utilize the city's powers for purposes of things like demolition and dealing with nuisance violations," Dixon City Attorney Rob LeSage said at the council meeting. The terms spell out how the city and county will work together, LeSage said. The city "will be identifying the properties that we want to deal with... [and] the activities that we want Lee County to conduct. We will be working together to define scope of work and the timing of the various projects," LeSage said.
