The Neighborhood Services Department (NSD) applied to the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) for $75,000 in their recent Round 3 Funding Cycle. The purpose of the grant program is to use funding in the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund for costs incurred for the securing, maintenance, and demolition of abandoned residential properties. The funding for the program is derived solely from foreclosure filing fees paid by lending institutions and collected by the county clerk in which the foreclosure is filed.
NSD Staff is currently tracking 100 vacant properties across the City of Champaign. Each structure is in various stages of enforcement action. The grant funding would be utilized to reimburse the City for funds expended on demolition activities. This would leverage with existing City funds allocated for demolition activities to add more capacity to the program. The grant funding would cover the expenses for demolition of up to six substandard properties.
Grant awards are expected to be announced in the first quarter of calendar year 2018 with funding dispersed in the third quarter of calendar year 2018. The City was a previous recipient of grant funding from IHDA for Rounds 1 and 2 Funding Cycles for $50,000 and $74,500 respectively.