The blight fight has an opportunity to blossom with a $6 million program from the Tennessee Housing Development Agency aimed at turning abandoned houses into green spaces.
Under the Blight Elimination Program, nonprofits will be able to receive forgivable loans of up to $25,000 to turn blighted properties into community parks or affordable housing.
"The scars of the housing crisis are deep and clear to see in neighborhoods all across the state,” said THDA Executive Director Ralph M. Perrey at a media conference. “We have families with children living beside empty, dangerous, uncared-for homes. It’s a health and safety issue, and a quality of life issue, and an economic issue for everyone in the community.”
Loans will be issues in two phases; $1 million has been set aside for loans with a zero percent interest rates intended for projects that are in an immediate reach.
After phase 1 has acquired, demolished and transformed the property, the U.S. Department of Treasury will authorize THDA to issue a phase 2 loan. Funding for phase 2 loans will come from the foreclosure prevention program, the Hardest Hit Fund, which recaptured federally-funded loans the THDA made to prevent foreclosures. These loans will allow the nonprofit to pay off the phase 1 loan so that THDA can reissue its funds to other nonprofits working with properties in the BEP plan.
Nonprofits are to maintain the transformed properties for three years, at which point the phase 2 loan will be forgiven.The loan could be forgiven earlier if the blighted property is turned into affordable housing.
The program will run through the end of 2017 or until the $6 million is used up. Applications from nonprofits with a history of successful construction and development activities can apply for the loans starting November 1.
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