Mayor Doug England today announced his selection of the nonprofit New Directions Housing Corporation to provide program delivery services for the $6.7 million S. Ellen Jones Neighborhood Stabilization Program, made possible through a recent grant from Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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.