DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — The City of Decatur and the Central Illinois Land Bank Authority are teaming up to clean up the city one block at a time. Decatur City Council voted to invest millions of dollars, from federal COIVID funds and state housing grants, into home rehabilitation. The program helps renovate abandoned houses.
"My thought is — instead of demolishing a whole bunch of properties, why don't we try to find the diamonds in the rough, take the ones that can be saved," Mike Davis, the Director of the Central Illinois Land Bank Authority, told WAND News.
Davis transformed a rundown house into an updated three bedroom home.
"After this house today, we have contracts lined up for another 4 rehab projects that we hope to sign this month. Hopefully in the spring, I'll have another four houses like this to sell to first time home buyers in Decatur," Davis explained.
The Land Bank hopes to see some of the 42% of Decatur renters, who have a high rent burden, move into their first home.
"If we can take one of those renters, and allow them to become homeowners, and they're paying less in their mortgage than they are for rent and they're building equity. That's a huge win for the community and a huge win for the city," David added.
The first house renovated by a partnership between the City of Decatur and the Central Illinois Land Bank Authority.
Half a million dollars from the city, and $200,000 in a state housing grant, is paying for the renovations. But the Land Bank hopes to make this a sustainable program, tackling dozens of blighted homes.
"What we're going to do is, with the sales proceeds, we're going to recycle it into the next rehab and keep this going in Decatur," David said.
Click here to see the listing and request a tour. Homeowners will be asked to stay in the house for at least three years and not rent out to tenants.
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