SoutheastNeighborhoodStrategicActionPlan_January1995_Current

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Southeast Quality of Life Strategic Neighborhood Action Plan LAND USE AND PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT WORKING PAPER Existing Conditions and Trends Several key trends have influenced the neighborhood in the recent past which indicate public and private disinvestment within the neighborhood. Portions of the existing housing stock are in need of significant structural rehabilitation as homes have been boarded up without further action taken to improve, relocate, or raze the building for significant periods of time. Many properties sit vacant and ill -maintained. Also indicative of neighborhood (dis)investment are levels of home ownership. The number of owner -occupied housing units has decreased by 24.4% in the past ten years indicating, as discussed in the Housing section, that for a variety of reasons, people are not investing in homes within the neighborhood. Many neighborhood streets, sidewalks and parks are ill -maintained indicating a lack of continuing public investment in the neighborhood. As commercial activity moves out, the jobs, income, and property values of the neighborhood are further reduced. Although many of the non-residential uses (churches and boys and girls club) are community assets, the physical condition of several of these buildings and sites is in a state of disrepair. The non-residential uses should demonstrate their investment in the community by reinvesting in their own physical appearance. Other trends include the potential establishment of several large scale institutions to the neighborhood. The area north of Broadway is designated to accommodate most of the redevelopment including the Juvenile Detention Center, the new Boys and Girls Club, and Ivy Tech. Riley High School has also acquired nearby properties to accommodate its expansion. At this time, properties within potential redevelopment areas are being acquired; homes are being boarded, cleared or relocated. However, many of the properties after being cleared are slow to receive new uses and are not properly maintained. Neighborhoods require a critical mass of homes and identifying boundaries to ensure an overall continuity and to maintain a single family character. The continued loss or boarding of homes jeopardizes the neighborhood's overall continuity. 4:]