Partnerships in Neighborhood Revitalization

Example of Revitalization One great example of how this partnership works is the collaboration we have with the City of Janesville, other Janesville nonprofits, and FCI to work in neighborhoods in the City of Janesville Janesville is part of a HOME consortium that includes all of Rock County, including the Cities of Janesville and Beloit and Rock County They are a relatively small consortium, and had been having trouble expending their CHDO funds We started our work in Janesville using NSP funds—which we leveraged with FCI loan funds so that we could have a bigger impact

City of Janesville in 2009 Downtown neighborhoods had high vacancy rates, high rates of foreclosure, and declining home values While a significant number of jobs had been lost (GM), there were also sectors of employment growth , although not always at the some income levels Downtown housing was also the oldest housing stock in the community, lots of lead paint and code issues There was some investment in the neighborhoods because of the presence of the older historic homes And, those who had remained in these neighborhoods were invested in creating change This same situation can be seen in neighborhoods and communities across the State of Wisconsin

Developing a plan City staff, neighborhood groups, and nonprofits agreed on a multi-pronged approach and determined who could engage in activities to have an impact on the two neighborhoods. Residents were involved in the development of the plan. The city committees, elected officials and city leadership was all supportive of creating change. They looked at all the resources they had available and put a plan together, starting with the development of neighborhood plans.

Reduce Housing Vacancy Use of NSP and FCI loan funds to purchase bank foreclosures and rehab Use of NSP funds to demolish vacant foreclosure properties that could not be rehabbed Using city general revenue funds to purchase tax foreclosures from the county. Using HOME and CDBG funds and FCI loan funds to rehab tax foreclosures Using HOME and FCI loan funds to engage in new construction on the vacant lots.

Improve Housing Conditions Surveying home conditions and citing code violations for owners and landlords (CDBG, city funds) Providing rehab funds to landlords and owners to make repairs (CDBG, HOME and Lead Hazard Grant Funds) Providing other incentives to improve property appearance (good neighbor awards, etc.)

Partnerships CHDO’s that could engage in rehab and resale activities City staff, including inspectors and neighborhood services staff Landlord group to educate about resources available to make rental improvements Nonprofit that could provide rental and case management services to stabilize renter households in the neighborhood Neighborhood groups to provide direction and support Historic groups to ensure that neighborhood integrity was maintained State staff support related to NSP activities Access to private capital to leverage federal funds available and make change more quickly

Make Changes Over time different approaches were used to try to achieve the goals: Moved from bank foreclosures to tax foreclosures—worked with county to obtain tax foreclosures to further reduce property vacancy Added the vacancy ordinance to get at private entities that were still holding property, including banks Added purchase and rehab of strategic rental properties that were in foreclosure or had multiple code violations Began to address vacant lots that were in the neighborhood by engaging in new construction.

Leveraging Funds 2009 Sample Sources of Funds USES OF FUNDS Purchase $18,000 Rehab $90,000 TOTAL COST $118,000 SOURCES OF FUNDS NSP funds $75,000 FCI LOAN FUNDS $43,000 TOTAL FUNDS Sales Price $57,000 Developer Subsidy $61,000

Leveraging Funds 2017 Sample Sources of Funds USES OF FUNDS Purchase $0.00 (tax foreclosure) Rehab $120,000 TOTAL COST SOURCES OF FUNDS CDBG funds $40,000 FCI LOAN FUNDS $80,000 TOTAL FUNDS Sales Price $114,000 Developer Subsidy $6,000

Total Activity In total to date, we have purchased and rehabbed 14 single family homes We have built two new homes for sale We have purchased 10 units of rental housing (5 duplexes) and improved the condition of those units We have one more rehab and two new constructions underway In total, we have invested $2.2 million in these two neighborhoods, using $1.2 million in NSP, HOME and CDBG funds

Measure Results Foreclosure rates in the two neighborhoods have dramatically declined, partly because of the economy and partly because of the number of homes that have been purchased using federal funds Vacancy rates have declined Market measures, such as median neighborhood sales prices have increased and time on market has decreased Pre-rehab appraisals for all the homes we have completed totaled $450,000. Post-rehab appraisals totaled $1.3 million.

Factors of Success Work was based on neighborhood needs Clear goals were established Availability of loan funds so more homes could be done Strong city leadership and strong partners Neighborhood support Patience in getting to some success Nonprofit capacity for development