BRISTOL, Va. – Several houses along Mary Street are getting a facelift.
People Incorporated, an Abingdon-based nonprofit community service agency, has been granted more than $800,000 from the state to rehabilitate half a dozen homes along East and West Mary Street.
The agency bought six foreclosed homes in bulk from a bank, and, once renovated, the homes will represent 11 housing units, said Mike Rush, People Inc.’s director of housing programs.
“One of the charges we have as a [grant recipient] is to basically not change the character of the neighborhood,” Rush said. He said some of the houses were divided into apartments, and the group will maintain that feature in the homes.
The project is aimed at getting more people into affordable housing, he said. Once the homes are renovated, they will be listed for sale through real estate agents and through People Inc. The group will work to help qualified buyers – with incomes at or below 50 percent of Bristol’s median income – buy the homes inexpensively.
He said People Inc. might have bought a house for about $45,000, added $25,000 worth of materials and labor to renovate it, and will sell the house for about $48,000.
“Often people are able to live more cheaply in a house they own than one they rent,” he said. “We often sell houses for less than we spend on them. … Often people qualify to buy the house for less than it’s listed.”
The houses will begin to be available in the next six weeks, Rush said.
Part of the group’s mission is to retain the value of neighborhoods. If a neighborhood experiences many foreclosures, the value of the neighborhood decreases, Rush said.
“By improving the livability of these houses, the whole neighborhood will benefit,” he said. “The houses will not only add value, but … eliminate some blighted (empty or vacant) properties, and maintain the character of the neighborhood.”
Money earned from selling the homes will go back to the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, the granting agency, to be redistributed to other areas. The grant money is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and was distributed through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
“The idea is that the money will recirculate,” Rush said. “Hopefully, if we’re successful, we’ll be eligible for an incentive pool of money to be able to do even more.”
Three of the homes are on East Mary Street, and three on West Mary Street. The homes are currently undergoing renovation, and Rush said the process to find homeowners will begin soon. For more information, contact People Inc. at www.peopleinc.net.
arobinson@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-3385
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