July 21, 2024 – With support from the City of Decatur’s American Rescue Plan funds, the Central Illinois Land Bank Authority (CILBA) has completed another home rehabilitation project located at 1652 N Edward St, Decatur.
This is the second home completed in the Abandonment to Rehab program. The program is a partnership between the City and CILBA that takes vacant/abandoned homes that would otherwise likely become demolition candidates and rehabilitates them. The first completed home at 439 S Maffit St. sold in March 2024.
Decatur’s Deputy City Manager, Jon Kindseth, said “investing in our neighborhoods by rehabilitating homes is a key revitalization strategy. With thousands of abandoned properties, we need partners like the Central IL Land Bank to help get more rehabs done, keep properties on the tax rolls, and forge connections with community partners to scale this rehab work.”
This project was also backed by the City’s partnership with Land of Lincoln Credit Union to support emerging contractors and give them access to a low-interest loan to get projects over the finish line. Sharona McClendon, the project’s general contractor with BeBe Construction, noted – “as a MWBE contractor that’s trying to grow my business and do more work, having access to low-interest capital from partners like Land of Lincoln Credit Union is extremely important. Without these resources, it’s really hard for emerging contractors like me to bid on these challenging rehab projects.”
Additionally, the City and its partners are launching the Decatur Homebuyer Initiative, which is a collaboration aimed at preparing and supporting residents to become home owners. The Community Investment Corporation of Decatur (CICD) is leading public education efforts. CICD hosts multiple homebuyer education classes and can work individually with residents eager to begin their homeownership journey.
Mike Davis, Executive Director of CILBA said – “its great to rehab these abandoned homes and help revitalize Decatur’s neighborhood, but if we don’t have partners providing homeownership courses then we’re in deep trouble selling the houses to responsible Decatur residents on the back end. This is where the partnership with CICD is critical – their role providing homeownership classes is so important for selling homes to local buyers.”
