Decatur receives $337,000 grant to continue abandonment to rehab work

Decatur, IL – On the heels of unveiling the first home completed in the Abandonment to Rehab program, the City of Decatur and Central Illinois Landbank Authority (CILBA) has received a $337,000 grant to continue saving and rehabilitating homes.
The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) has awarded the grant to Decatur from round two of its “Strong Communities Program.” This will strengthen the Abandonment to Rehab program, which just unveiled its first completely rehabbed home at 439 S Maffit St. last week.
     “This is excellent news and we can’t thank IHDA enough for seeing the value of our program and continuing their investment in Decatur,” said City Economic & Community Development Assistant Director Richelle Dunbar. “This is another funding source that allows us to further our efforts towards Neighborhood Revitalization.”
     IHDA was the major funder for the 439 S Maffit St. project. Macon County also received a similar grant from IHDA for housing rehabilitation and demolitions, making it over 2/3 of one million dollars coming to the community. These grant funds will be managed by CILBA.
     “IHDA is a strong supporter of affordable housing and our Abandonment to Rehab program is an innovative tool that provides opportunities for first-time homebuyers,” said CILBA Executive Director Mike Davis. “Our goal is to prove the model and show this can be expanded upon in numerous communities downstate that need investment in existing housing stock.”
     The Abandonment to Rehab Program is a partnership between the City of Decatur and CILBA that takes vacant/abandoned homes that would otherwise likely become demolition candidates and rehabilitating them. This initiative allows the City to move from a reactive approach on blighted structures to a proactive one in which we are actively partnering with CILBA to save homes before they become the next round of demolitions. The intent is to sell these homes to first-time home buyers.