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November 20, 2009

Lots of work ahead to meet HUD deadline

By JESSE DAVIS

The announcement of a $2.1 million Neighborhood Stabilization Project grant Thursday has left much work to be done by the city and sub-recipient LaCasa Inc.

That work will begin with a large pile of paperwork, according to Planning and Zoning Assistant Administrator Rhonda Yoder.

“We have to sign an award, do our local agreements, kind of get all the preliminary paperwork ... and get everything in place now to proceed,” she said.

That preparation, she said, will come in handy, as the city must meet the same deadlines as those cities that were awarded grants when initially announced in September. She is confidant, however, that the deadlines can be met.

“The good thing is that during the application process, we had spent a lot of time identifying possible properties and doing some background work,” she said. “Of course, some of that has changed, but we’ve at least done a lot of preparation.”

Yoder said that although the funds have been awarded, they will probably not be available until the first of the year. She is still unsure of how the funding stream will work, whether the city will spend the money on behalf of LaCasa or whether it will be funneled to LaCasa for use. That information will be known later in the project.

Once the funds are in hand, there are still requirements on how it can be spent, including some regarding income levels. The money can only be used to serve people making up to 120 percent of the area median income (AMI), and at least 25 percent of it must be used to serve those making less than 50 percent AMI.

LaCasa’s responsibilities will be the “intense part of the work,” according to Yoder.

“They’ll actually manage the day-to-day process of acquiring the property, rehabbing the property, selling the property,” she said.

LaCasa president and Chief Executive Officer Larry Gautsche was excited for the opportunities the grant money enables.

“Obviously I was surprised (about the announcement),” he said. “This was something that we had hoped to get six months ago. Apparently they had some money returned, so we got a second chance at it. I’m very pleased, this is a big win for Goshen.”

Gautsche said the deadlines, although tight, should not be too much of a problem, as LaCasa has continued to monitor local foreclosures and has an updated map showing their locations. He also said it helps that the state has been working through its requirements for the grants.

“In that sense, we’re not really all that far behind as to where other projects are at this point. There shouldn’t be any problem in gearing up for this,” he said.

The project also has good implications for local business and is a “win for everybody,” according to Gautsche.

“The contractors need the work, the neighbors are concerned about the vacant properties and it’s a great opportunity for first-time homebuyers to get homes that have been rehabbed and are weatherized, really great buys in this market,” he said.

First-time homebuyers in particular will be targeted when the rehabilitated properties are ready for sale.

The city and LaCasa are still waiting to hear back from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regarding a grant from a different part of the NSP program. That grant, based on a joint application between Goshen and Elkhart, is for $6.9 million. Yoder expects that announcement will be made some time in December.

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