Will County launched a pilot program to place residents in safer homes while demolishing vacant ones in an unincorporated area of Lockport Township.
The board unanimously approved the program for the Fairmont neighborhood Thursday, allowing the county to use Community Development Block Grant funds to provide housing for residents who are in an uninhabitable homes, which they will turn over to the county to demolish and sell the site for redevelopment, said Kathy Pecora, program manager with the county’s community development division.
Pecora said $200,000 from the fund will be used for the project.
It’s the next step in an ongoing effort to reduce blight, stabilize housing, and eliminate any negative impacts on property values, to encourage people to invest here, she said.
The home replacement program is a “win-win-win,” she said.
“We help them sell their home at fair market value. Someone in need of a safe home gets one. We demo the blight which helps the neighbors, and gets someone interested in developing. It’s good for everyone,” Pecora said.
Will County has had a home repair assistance program, and has completed work on 12 properties, bringing them up to code, and expects to work on another eight homes by the end of the year, Pecora said.
Working with the Will County Center for Community Concerns, which qualifies residents for the home assistance program based on income, Pecora said they received 51 applications for that repair program.
Through that, the county discovered that repairs to some homes far exceeded the cost to replace it, she said.
In one home, a resident was using the stove for heat, and had a ceiling that collapsed, according to Pecora. The person has been moved into a Habitat for Humanity home in Fairmont.
Now that the home replacement program has been approved, the county will purchase the Habitat home for this resident in exchange for the blighted home, which will be demolished for redevelopment, Pecora said.
There are a few other Fairmont residents whose homes have been identified as uninhabitable or too costly to repair, that the county also hopes to replace soon, she said.
Will County board member Annette Parker, R-Crest Hill, who represents this area, said officials can’t force people to leave their homes; residents have to agree to participate in this program.
They don’t want to leave Fairmont, where several have lived for many generations, but they can’t live in these homes that are “dangerous,” she said.
By partnering with Habitat for Humanity, they can be moved into a repaired home, and are expected to stay there for a number of years, Pecora said, otherwise they must pay back a portion of the home’s cost.
Those receiving a replacement home must continue to qualify by income based on guidelines set by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and comply with certain conditions to ensure that they remain a “responsible homeowner,” such as:
Attend and graduate from an annual HUD certified housing counseling class.
Agree to annual property inspection by the county.
Submit documentation or proof of property taxes being current and proof of insurance.
“We’ll see how it goes. Ideally, we would love to keep the program going,” Pecora said.
“I want the community to benefit. The tide is turning in Fairmont. There’s a lot of positive things happening here. The residents take pride in the community. They are working hard to make it just like every other neighborhood,” she said.
“I think the people will be happy with (the home replacement program). It is all part of the plan to improve the community,” Parker said.
