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6 West Side houses to be demolished
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| This house at 907 Elston St. is scheduled to be demolished by Smith and Sons Excavating as part of the West Side Neighborhood Stabilization Program. Photo by Deborah Sederberg |
By Deborah Sederberg
Staff Writer
Smith and Sons Excavating will be paid $9,000 for demolishing the structure at 832 W. Seventh St.; $7,000 for 1011 W. Seventh St. and $9,300 for 907 Elston St.
Three demolition contracts were awarded to Phelps Construction — $7,700 for 1516 W. Eighth St.; $9,600 for 1922 Tennessee St.; and $10,800 for 1520 W. 10th St.
Russ Hatfield, code enforcement officer, said some of the houses in this group may not appear to be teetering on the brink of collapse but looks can be deceiving.
“Some have damage to the foundations and some would cost more to rehabilitate than it would to tear them down and start from scratch,” he said.
After the structures have been cleared, property will be given to not-for-profit groups such as Habitat for Humanity. Those groups must bring the homes to standards set by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Rehabbing and retro-fitting an old home could get expensive, what with new energy standards and other issues.
In June 2009, Mayor Chuck Oberlie announced that Michigan City had been awarded $2.8 million in Neighborhood Stabilization Program grant funds by the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority.
As part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, HUD created the NSP to eliminate or mitigate the negative effects of vacant and abandoned houses on neighborhoods with the greatest needs.
The West Side Project area is bordered by Wabash Street to the east, Sheridan Street to the west, West Fourth Street to the north and Ferry Street to the south.
“The removal of blighted structures will make the whole neighborhood look better and less desolate,” said Judith Pinkston, community development director. “In addition, the building of new homes and rehabilitation of vacant homes in the target area will help restore a sense of pride in the West Side. This effort should have a positive impact not only on the visual and aesthetics, but is a positive step to assist West Side residents who have tried to maintain their properties only to have an adjacent vacant property continue to decline with graffiti and neglect.”
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hey man wrote on Sep 8, 2010 9:01 PM:
Lawrence wrote on Sep 9, 2010 2:24 AM:
death wrote on Sep 9, 2010 8:21 AM:
Citys Interest wrote on Sep 10, 2010 12:21 AM:
Phil wrote on Sep 10, 2010 2:28 AM:
Phil wrote on Sep 10, 2010 2:33 AM:
You All wrote on Sep 10, 2010 3:26 PM:
I must say that I haven't seen anyone move into a section 8 or Habitat home and keep it as nice as it was the day they moved in. No one gives a crap about nice or not nice, Nor do they care or seem to have the intelligence to take care of what is provided for them. MAYBE if they had to work for the money to pay for a roof over their heads they would take better care of the property. Just Maybeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee "
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| The following is criteria editors will follow in deeming comments suitable for posting. The newspaper reserves the right to not publish any comment for any reason and is not responsible for the content of any comment that posts. If you have a question as to why your comment was not posted, please e-mail news@thenewsdispatch.com |
Heyman wrote on Sep 8, 2010 5:54 PM:
You'd think that letting someone buy it for a buck, and fixing it up, would be more constructive? And it would bring property tax to the city.
I forgot. I'm talking about Michigan City. Where politicians don't care what the general public has on their minds. Tear it down. To build another strip mall that'll be deserted in a few years. "