Neighborhood Stabilization Program Partners
Mayor Greg Ballard was joined by community leaders today to announce the city’s partners in implementing projects funded by $29 million in Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funds.
The funds were approved by Congress late in 2008 to help neighborhoods recover from the effects of widespread foreclosures. When the Office of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded the funds, the City’s Redevelopment Planning Council engaged in an extensive evaluation process to determine how and where the dollars should be focused to have the greatest impact on Indianapolis neighborhoods.
Community stakeholders, guided by the expertise of the Center for Urban Policy and the Environment, met to determine how the funds should be focused in Indianapolis to achieve the most significant, positive impact. The result of a data-intensive process driven by representatives from the city’s public and private sectors narrowed the investment to target areas. Once the areas were determined, the group of stakeholders set out to identify partners in each area. More than 50 responses to a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) were received, each seeking the ability to partner with the city in this endeavor.
“We set out to determine which community partners were best suited to help us transform entire sections of the city by making the most significant, immediate and positive impact with these funds,” said Mayor Ballard. “This is a great opportunity to bolster stabilization and revitalization efforts taking place throughout Indianapolis.”
The NSP development partners include:
• Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership
• Concord Community Development Corporation
• South East Neighborhood Development
• Greater Eastside Housing Project Team
• Englewood Community Development Corporation
• Mapleton Fall Creek Development Corporation
• Michigan B&O Reinvestment Team
These six development teams will immediately begin a project development phase involving working with city staff and neighborhood stakeholders to address the following: Acquisition/Land Bank, Acquisition/Rehabilitation, Acquisition/New Construction, Demolition, Rental Development, Financing Mechanisms, and Administration.
“The RFQs allowed a greater flexibility for us to spend the funds and will give taxpayers the best bang for their buck,” said Maury Plambeck, Director of the Department of Metropolitan Development. “That is demonstrated in the variety of projects selected.”
As homes are developed throughout the NSP target areas, the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership (INHP) will work closely with other NSP recipients to help prepare families for long-term, successful homeownership in those areas. INHP will provide a full range of services, including: education, mortgage and credit counseling programs, and mortgage financing options for home purchase, home purchase with home rehabilitation, and home repair which empower low and moderate-income families to become and remain successful homeowners.
These particular funds also have strict timelines, requiring them to be under contract within 18 months and spent within 48 months.
The following budget framework for NSP funds was developed in accordance with Federal guidelines:
Acquisition/land bank 29%
Acquisition/rehabilitation 17%
Acquisition/new construction 3%
Demolition 1%
Rental development 25%
Financing Mechanisms 15%
Administration 10%
