Laserfiche WebLink
St. Joseph County Housing Consortium <br />Currently, there are 299 Public Housing units serving 281 low-income families in <br />Mishawaka. Eighteen units are unoccupied due to renovations occurring at River View 500, <br />a public housing facility maintained and operated by the Mishawaka Housing Authority. <br />The aging housing stock in Mishawaka's central city area in general, and the Milburn <br />Boulevard Neighborhood in particular, has shaped the City's plan for allocation of funds. <br />NSP, CDBG and TIF funds will be used to acquire and demolish vacant, abandoned and/or <br />foreclosed structures in these older neighborhoods. NSP and HOME grants will provide the <br />funding for new construction single-family homes on the cleared lots for low-moderate <br />income participants in the City's First-Time Homebuyer Program. HOME funds will also be <br />used to subsidize the construction of Habitat for Humanity homes on some of the cleared <br />lots, benefitting very low -low income families. Vacant, abandoned and/or foreclosed <br />homes in the Milburn Boulevard Neighborhood that are deemed to be in reasonably sound <br />condition will be purchased and rehabilitated using NSP and CDBG funds. These houses will <br />become homes for low-moderate income participants in the City's Self-Sufficiency Lease-to- <br />Own program. <br />At present, the Mishawaka Housing Authority has a waiting list of 25 households seeking <br />senior citizen housing. In response, the City of Mishawaka has obtained an NSP grant to <br />convert a former high_ school into approximately 32 age-restricted (55 years and older) <br />apartments. CDBG and TIF funds, as well as a grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank, will <br />be utilized to complete the rehabilitation of the site. <br />Specific Housing Objectives (91.215 (b)) <br />1. Describe the priorities and specific objectives the jurisdiction hopes to achieve <br />over a specified time period. <br />2. Describe how Federal, State, and local public and private sector resources that <br />are reasonably expected to be available will be used to address identified <br />needs for the period covered by the strategic plan. <br />In an effort to prevent further deterioration of the housing stock, increase the rate of home <br />ownership and revitalize neighborhoods, the Consortium supports the strategies outlined <br />below. To obtain the greatest neighborhood impact, it is expected that, to the extent <br />possible, programs outlined below will also incorporate formal neighborhood plans into the <br />implementation of HCD strategies; stem transitional neighborhood decline; promote <br />neighborhood revitalization; eliminate the lead-based paint threat; and further fair housing <br />in St. Joseph County. <br />Supporting Existing Homeowners -The age of the housing stock in the inner cities <br />creates certain challenges for neighborhoods particularly if the houses within it have not <br />been properly maintained. This sometimes occurs because of a concentration of low income <br />homeowners without sufficient means to keep up with the maintenance requirements of an <br />older home. To assist these residents, the Consortium supports the inclusion of the <br />following activities: <br />A. Loans/Grants to Owner-Occupants for Home Rehabilitation/Repair/Purchase <br />B. Home Modification for Disabled Homeowners <br />C. Delinquency & Foreclosure Resolution for Existing Homeowners <br />2010-2014 Housing and Community Development Plan 37 <br />