The $6.75 million grant to revitalize foreclosed homes in the S. Ellen Jones neighborhood will not be a tool to fatten the pockets of developers and realtors, Mayor Doug England vowed Tuesday.
“We’re not going to have vultures come in,” England said during a press conference at the Cardinal Ritter House — the revamped birthplace of Cardinal Joseph Ritter that is nestled in the heart of the SEJ neighborhood.
The federal grant was awarded to New Albany in November, and Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman joined State Rep. Ed Clere and England to detail how the money is to be used.
Skillman said 40 abandoned or foreclosed houses will be purchased and redeveloped by New Albany. After refurbishing, the homes will be sold at affordable prices to foster property ownership in the SEJ neighborhood.
The state’s role in the scheme is dividing up the federal money — $83 million available for Indiana in the second round of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, or NSP — of which New Albany received the second largest sum next to Lafayette.
New Albany didn’t secure any federal money during the first NSP wave, but Skillman credited Clere for pushing the SEJ project at the Statehouse and before the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, or IHCDA, which helped ensure the $6.75 million grant.
“It’s taken a lot of people to move this along,” Clere said.
And the road is just beginning.
New Albany has until September to commit the money. England said the city will not take any property through eminent domain, adding that he hopes for cooperation from SEJ land owners that have foreclosed houses on their lots.
When the houses are sold, the funds are to revolve locally for further revitalization efforts.
“It could keep multiplying and multiplying and multiplying,” England said.
He called the grant the best news he’s received as mayor, and added it will create jobs by putting people to work revamping the selected houses after they are designated.
But England promised careful scrutiny and oversight of the funds to make sure they are only being directed toward “benefiting the people.”
While the city didn’t have proprietorship in the development, IHCDA shutdown the Linden Meadows housing effort this summer which was also intended to increase the amount of home owners in New Albany.
Skillman said SEJ would differ from Linden Meadows in that the project is being funded without a bank loan.
Twenty of the refurbished SEJ houses are to be sold to first time homebuyers with priority to households at or below 50 percent of the area median income, rules for the grant stipulate.
The parameters for the grant area are Market Street to Beeler Street, and East Fifth Street to Vincennes Street.
England said his administration targeted SEJ because of its proximity to downtown. It can again be a viable neighborhood with walkable access to schools, businesses and local entertainment, England said.
“I can see it changing so much,” he said.
Clere worked closely with the S. Ellen Jones Neighborhood Association and its president, Ted Fulmore, in identifying the need for the rehabilitation project. He admitted there is skepticism as to whether SEJ is worth the investment.
“Certainly there are people that doubt what can happen in this neighborhood,” he said.
England defended the choice, saying the start of a new decade is the perfect time to reshape SEJ.
Skillman — who is the chair of the IHCDA board — said foreclosures and blighted areas are a common problem for many communities in Indiana.
“These projects will breathe new life into the S. Ellen Jones neighborhood,” she said.
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State, city officials detail $6.75M grant for New Albany's S. Ellen Jones neighborhood
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