Nonprofit to build 40 affordable homes in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) —The Nehemiah Expansion Inc. was founded in 1999 and focuses on building affordable housing in the east side of Springfield. So far, the non profit has built 80 new single-family rental homes and just broke ground on 40 more.

"We want people to have good homes, good electricity, and basements, garages, two car garages, just like what the Nehemiah Expansion is doing," said Alderman Shawn Gregory. "They are taking vacant, ready to fall apart houses and building new ones. So to be able to support a project such as Nehemiah expansion, that is taking those 40 homes and creating new in the area really helps us."

The Nehemiah Inc. has provided a list of all of the homes that will be built.

These houses will be two, three, and four-bedrooms with two car garages and yards. Sixteen units will be reserved for households earning less than 60 percent of the Area Median Income ($51,540 for a family of 3 in Sangamon County), 14 will be set aside for households earning less than 50 percent of the Area Median Income ($42,950 for a 3-person household) and the remaining 10 will be affordable to residents earning less than 30 percent of the Area Median Income (less than $25,770 for a household of 3). Ten units will receive rental assistance from the City of Springfield, ensuring residents pay no more than 30 percent of their income towards rent.

"We make it harder to build affordable housing than we do luxury housing, it should be the opposite," said Kristin Faust, the Executive Director for the Illinois Housing Development Authority. "It should be easier to build affordable housing...and we're always oversubscribed for our money, usually it is three to one."

Faust said these types of developments can have a huge impact on the success of neighborhoods. When new houses are built, neighbors feel more pride in the area and are more likely to take care of their property.

"We see a lot of new home ownership and new homes being built on the west side of town and around the lake area," said Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher. "So it's important that we take out older neighborhoods...and create that affordable new housing for renters and owners."

There are 300 people on the waitlist for the Nehemiah Project homes. Construction started last week and is expected to last through summer 2024.