Of the 83 communities and organizations that applied to the state for stabilization funds in March 2009, only 24 were awarded with New Albany receiving one of the largest and most recently awarded grants.

Lt. Governor Becky Skillman formally announced New Albany’s grant on December 29, 2009 at the Ritter House, 1218 E. Oak Street.

The S. Ellen Jones Neighborhood Stabilization Program, supported by federal stimulus funding, allows the City of New Albany through New Directions to buy foreclosed, vacant and abandoned properties, refurbish them and resell them to qualified buyers. The program may also fund the demolishment of dilapidated properties and infill new construction. Key program delivery services include criteria for purchasing properties, the process of evaluating properties, financial modeling, holding periods and property management, design and construction, neighborhood marketing, success measurement, and redevelopment strategies.

“This is so much more than eliminating blight, or even rehabilitating houses,” says Mayor Doug England. “This is an exciting opportunity to bolster the revitalization progress already well under way in New Albany.”

“The SEJ Neighborhood Stabilization Program will offer home ownership opportunity to families who want to join our community’s schools, employers and congregations. New Albany is a great place to make a home and invest for the long-term, as we lead up to New Albany’s Bi-Centennial in 2013.”

New Directions Housing Corporation

New Directions Housing Corporation, a nonprofit community development corporation, most notable for its annual Repair Affair initiative and the development of the $6.5 million Saint Edward Court, a 57-unit housing community on New Albany’s E. Spring Street. In addition, the agency has a five-year partnership with the City of New Albany in the delivery of emergency repair services. New Directions is a Metro United Way member agency and part of the NeighborWorks® America network of agencies, working across the country to advance housing revitalization and neighborhood strengthening.

“Home values in New Albany can benefit from changing perceptions of the value of historic, central city neighborhoods that are close to retail, educational and other commercial services,” says Joe Gliessner, New Directions Executive Director.

Gliessner went on further to state, “Like the rest of the state and our region, New Albany was hurt by predatory lenders and the economy’s downturn. Housing investment in S. Ellen Jones Neighborhood would signal a renaissance for all of the neighborhoods that surround the downtown revitalization. New Directions is pleased to continue and expand its partnership with the people and City of New Albany.” (www.ndhc.org)

The Local Housing Industry

The City of New Albany and New Directions will not be alone in implementing the S. Ellen Jones Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The program is intended to be a “shot in the arm” to the local housing industry and Mayor England underscored this objective.

“New Directions knows it must provide opportunities to local builders, suppliers, realtors, bankers and others as it implements redevelopment activities in the S. Ellen Jones Neighborhood. The extent to which this is accomplished will also be a measure of success,” Mayor England stated.

New Directions will produce a local housing industry workshop at the Ritter House to explain how it will engage the local housing industry in the project. The date and time of this workshop has yet to be determined. But it will be coordinated with housing industry trade groups like the Homebuilders Association of Southern Indiana, the Southern Indiana Realtors Association and others.

Neighborhood Stabilization Program

HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (www.hud.gov/nsp) provides emergency assistance to state and local governments to acquire and redevelop foreclosed properties that might otherwise become sources of abandonment and blight within their communities. The Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) provided grants to every state and certain local communities to purchase foreclosed or abandoned homes and to rehabilitate, resell, or redevelop these homes in order to stabilize neighborhoods and stem the decline of house values of neighboring homes. The program is authorized under Title III of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. In Indiana, this program is administrated by the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority.

New Albany, Indiana

New Albany is a fast growing city located on the Ohio River in the south central region of Indiana. It is an easy ten minute commute to downtown Louisville, Kentucky. New Albany has been expanding its economy alongside neighboring communities such as the Metro Louisville area and other Southern Indiana cities such as Clarksville, Jeffersonville, Sellersburg, and the Floyds Knobs area. Downtown commercial revitalization has quickened the pace of retail and hospitality job creation. New Albany offers low business costs along with a great central location that allows easy access to major interstates. Just east of downtown, the city’s S. Ellen Jones Neighborhood boundaries include 8th Street on the west, Beeler on the North, and Vincennes on the East. The southern border is the north side of Elm Street.

The company announced early Monday morning that this week, weather pending, they would be on a one-day delayed schedule for the entire week.

Monday’s route is scheduled to be collected Tuesday; Tuesday’s route on Wednesday; Wednesday’s route on Thursday; Thursday’s route on Friday and Friday’s route on Saturday.

Contact SIWS at (812) 948-5356 with further questions.

The portion, featuring the Preston’s, begins at the 21:38 mark of the clip. Click here to watch the program.

The project involves the replacement of existing mast arms, controllers, signal indications for both vehicular and pedestrian traffic and the installation of new vehicle detection at the following intersections:

• E. Market St. at Pearl St.
• E. Market St. at Bank St.
• E. Market St. at E. Seventh St.
• E. Spring St. at Pearl St.
• E. Spring St. at Bank St.
• E. Spring St. and E. Seventh St.

Other notable improvements:

• The detection system will now be wireless, eliminating issues typical to wired loop systems within the pavement.
• Pedestrian signal indications will visibly display the amount of crossing time remaining.
• New controllers and antennae will be installed where State St. intersects E. Market and E. Spring Streets to create a coordinated signal system.
• Signal heads will use LED lights, which are brighter, last longer and are more energy-efficient.

The project was let by the Indiana Department of Transportation on Nov. 18, 2009. Michiana Contracting, Inc. was awarded the project with a bid of $539,904.33.

Construction funding is 100-percent federal-aid through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Engineering fees were funded locally through tax-increment financing.

The job is expected to be complete at the end of June 2010.

A similar project is slated to soon begin at the intersection of E. Elm and Pearl Streets, which will incorporate the intersections of E. Elm and Pearl and State Streets and Scribner Dr. in the coordinated system.

“We had to pull our trucks off the road (Tuesday) due to hazardous conditions caused by the snow and ice,” Lee said. “We always want to practice safety first.”

Tuesday’s route will be collected Wednesday; Wednesday’s route on Thursday; Thursday’s route on Friday and Friday’s route on Saturday.

“There may also be certain isolated areas that are too dangerous to travel over the next few days,” Lee added. “In those situations we ask the driver and supervisor to make the best decision keeping safety in mind.”

Contact SIWS at (812) 948-5356 with further questions.

Click here to watch the two-plus minute clip.

Five routes will be eliminated and service will be reduced on 17 routes, a handful of which will affect New Albany and Southern Indiana residents.

The following routes, all of which have alternative service, will be eliminated:

• #46X – 26th/42nd G.E. Express
• #69X – New Albany Express
• #70X – Clarksville Express
• #96 – West Louisville Circulator
• #22 – 22nd St. (Saturday)

Little-used route segments on the following routes will also be discontinued:

• #1 Fourth Street Trolley
• #15 Market Street
• #31 Middletown
• #43 Poplar Level
• #49X Westport Express
• #61X Plainview Express
• 64X Southern Oldham County Express

Finally, there will be service reductions on the following routes:

• #1 Fourth Street Trolley
• #2 Second Street
• #4 Fourth Street
• #6 Sixth Street
• #12 Twelfth Street
• #15 Market Street
• #19 Muhammad Ali
• #25 Oak Street
• #37X Iroquois Park Express
• #45x Okolona Express
• #49x Westport Express
• #53X Breckenridge Express
• #58 Bashford Manor
• #61x Plainview Express
• #63 Crums Lane
• #64X Southern Oldham County Express
• #67X Oldham I-71 Express
• #71 Jeffersonville Express
• #72 Clarksville-New Albany
• #73 Charlestown Road Express
• #78 Downtown Bluegrass Express.

New schedules will be available on the bus the week before the schedule change and will be available at www.ridetarc.org under “TARC News” up to two weeks before the schedule change. For specific schedule information, call 585-1234.

“The citizens of New Albany have again demonstrated their concern for our environment through their continued recycling efforts,” said Robert Lee, president of Southern Indiana Waste Systems. The increase was obtained, in part, by a change in the collection process to a single-stream collection, where drivers do not separate materials at the curb, Lee added. Materials are now separated at the company’s processing center.

This change in collection was made available by switching to a processing plant located in New Albany.

“It’s our responsibility to preserve the environment for future generations,” Mayor Doug England said. “It’s our responsibility to preserve the environment for future generations. I am proud of what our citizens accomplished in 2009. If we continue to work together to press ahead, I’m sure we can exceed this progress in 2010.”