Evansville, IN Proposes Land Bank to Fight Blight and Fix System
On March 30, Tristatehomepage.com released an article titled City’s “Blight Idea” Targets Abandoned Homes Through Land Bank.
City’s “Blight Idea” Targets Abandoned Homes Through Land Bank
The homes are blighted and the system is broken but Evansville’s Department of Metropolitan Development has a plan it believes targets both, city officials said. The city is mulling the idea of bringing a land bank to the city in hopes of eliminating blighted and abandoned homes.
The landbank is a long-term blight elimination plan, said Kelley Coures, the executive director of the Department of Metropolitan Development. To start, the plan calls for the demolitiion of vacant, blighted and decript properties that went un-sold at the county’s tax sale, Coures said. The plan would require major changes to the city’s non-profit Brownfields Corporation who would sell the properties to developers once they have been cleaned up.
The plan would require a significant public investment at first but Coures argues the costs would be off-set by few police and fire runs to blighted properties. There would be a reduction in expenses from code enforcement efforts on chronically blighted homes, Coures said.
“These vacant and abandoned dwellings are havens for meth makers, and vandals. It’s stressful on our neighborhoods,” Coures said. “Anytime you have stress on neighborhoods and stress on people who live in neighborhoods, I think that’s an issue.”
Coures said the first homes to be targeted by this plan include those he considers “low-hanging fruit.” Simply plut, Coures said, those homes are the worst of the worst. The program would begin with the demolition of 400-500 homes at an estimated $500 per home. That cost is to cover the legal and administration fees in order to do clerical things like transfer the deed. Coures believes in the landbank idea because he believes it has transformed neighborhoods on the city’s south side.
“This is what we did at Haynie’s Corner, Goosetown and Blackford’s Grove,” Coures said. “We effectively landbanked our way out of blight in those neighborhoods surrounding Haynie’s Corner. What we’ve seen is when we have enough available land, developers will come. Tear it down and they will come.”
The program needs to be fully funded in order to work properly, Coures said. Once fully implemented, the impact could affect neighborhoods and the county alike.
“The value of surrounding homes will go up which means the county will collect property taxes from those properties,” Coures said. “What’s the cost of a mother not being able to allow her children to play outside because of the house next door that someone could be in? What’s the cost of a senior citizen afraid to go to sleep at night in fear of the abandoned house next door is going to catch on fire? What’s the real cost? What’s the human cost? I think that’s difficult to measure.”
Using left over grant money, Coures is bringing in a consultant to discuss this proposal and how it has worked in other cities across the country. The meeting begins at 6:30pm Monday at the Browning Room in Central Library.
Please click here to view the article online.
About Safeguard
Safeguard Properties is the mortgage field services industry leader, preserving vacant and foreclosed properties across the U.S., Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and Guam. Founded in 1990 by Robert Klein and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Safeguard provides the highest quality service to our clients by leveraging innovative technologies and proactively developing industry best practices and quality control procedures. Consistent with Safeguard’s values and mission, we are an active supporter of hundreds of charitable efforts across the country. Annually, Safeguard gives back to communities in partnership with our employees, vendors and clients. We also are dedicated to working with community leaders and officials to eliminate blight and stabilize neighborhoods. Safeguard is dedicated to preserving today and protecting tomorrow. Website: www.safeguardproperties.com.
