Blight fight shifting to rehab

Properties in program will be renovated instead of demolished

When Steve Karns of 21st Avenue in Fairview heard that the city planned to tear down a long-derelict house across from his home as part of its blighted property demolition program, he was encouraged.

When Karns subsequently learned that the city instead planned to renovate the house as part of a new program designed to get away from demolition and the creation of vacant lots that generate little tax revenue, Karns was skeptical because the house has deteriorated so badly and seemed too costly to fix.

Karns was still skeptical on Friday, but he became more receptive after learning that the city doesn't necessarily need to be in the black after such projects, which involve acquisition, clearing the title, removing trash, hiring a contractor, supervising the renovation, then marketing and selling the property.

"I hope they can do it," he said. "(But) we'll see."

After many months of discussion and preparatory efforts, the Redevelopment Authority/Land Bank board this week launched the program by advertising for contractor bids on the renovation of the house, which is on the corner of 21st Avenue and 14th Street.

There's a pre-bid conference at 10 a.m. Feb. 28 at the house, and bids are due by 10 a.m. March 13 at the city's Community Development Department in City Hall.

The house has "good bones," but will need to be gutted and rebuilt, board member and City Councilman Ron Beatty said last fall when the house was chosen as the pilot for the new program, for which Beatty has been a main driver.

Initially, the plan was for the city to be the developer from beginning to end for the 21st Avenue house and a second one on the 1300 block of 18th Avenue, after which the authority would continue the program by identifying suitable properties, clearing their titles and perhaps other prep work, but then would give way to private companies that would be identified through requests for proposals to do the rest.

The plan now is for the city to be the developer from beginning to end for several properties, according to RA/LB officials.

In addition to the 21st Avenue and 18th Avenue houses, there are three in the "pipeline," Beatty said.

The 18th Avenue property is two or three months behind the 21st Avenue property in terms of what will need to be done.

Although he wonders about the financial feasibility of renovating the 21st Avenue house, such that it will attract a family to live there, Karns nevertheless approves of the rationale for the new program.

"The intention is good," Karns said. "I don't think anyone wants to see a bunch of empty lots."

Another neighbor, Shannon Belardi, was less reserved after learning of the plan.

"It's a great idea," Belardi. "It should 'up' the value of homes in the neighborhood."

It will also give someone else a chance to buy a home in a good neighborhood, she said.

She has lived there for 22 years and never had a problem, she said.

A third neighbor, Earl Hoover, was skeptical like Karns.

The program is a good idea, Hoover said.

"(But) it will take more than it's worth" to bring the house back to livable standards, he said.

Other neighbors are "ecstatic" about the prospect of the 21st Avenue renovation, authority officials said.

Neighbors of the second property, the one on 18th Avenue, are "loving" the city's plans, according to Mary Johnson, deputy director of the Department of Community Development.

The likely shortfall in sale value of such newly renovated homes, compared to the cost of acquiring them, clearing the title, cleaning them up, then renovating them, is what the city hopes to bridge with the new program, according to authority members.

The city has advertised for contractors to do the 21st Avenue house in the Mirror, on its website and on a billboard in City Hall, and it plans to notify a local builders association about the opportunity.

Based on an executive order effective on the first of this year, the minimum wage that will apply to the renovation of the 21st Avenue house would be $12.90, because the American Rescue Plan Act funding that is supporting the project is federal money, according to Jim Trexler, housing program manager for the Department of Community Development.

The chosen contractor, however, won't need to pay the higher "prevailing wages" that would be required for federally funded commercial work, officials said.

The authority plans to use money recouped from the sale of homes renovated through the new program to further sustain the program.

The authority is working with local banks to maximize interest earnings on money in its accounts.

It does not appear that the authority will need to make special accommodations for protected or favored classes of contractors, like those with a small workforce or modest annual receipts, officials said -- although Interim City Manager Joe Merrill will check to be sure.

The authority board Friday created a blanket authorization for staff to spend up to $10,000 on pre-development, site preparation and property maintenance for houses designated for the new program.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.