The completed remodel of a once-abandoned house on the corner of South Michigan Street and East Woodside Avenue. (SBT Photo/LINCOLN WRIGHT)
500 days and counting
- 528 of the 1,000 houses have been addressed or are set to be demolished or refurbished.
- 126 houses have been repaired.
- 2 houses currently are being repaired by area nonprofits.
- 142 houses have been demolished.
- 196 houses are under contract for future demolition.
- 62 houses will be demolished with funds from the Hardest Hit Fund Blight Elimination Program.
- 472 houses still have no plans and there are now fewer than 500 days for the project to be completed.
Lincoln Wright, South Bend Tribune
SOUTH BEND -- Five hundred days ago, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg started the ambitious plan to repair or demolish 1,000 vacant or abandoned houses in 1,000 days. Now halfway through the Vacant and Abandoned Properties Initiative, 528 houses have been addressed or have a demolition or repair plan set, progress Deputy Mayor Mark Neal said they are quite pleased with.
Thursday marked the halfway point for the initiative, and with 472 houses still sitting abandoned, Neal said it's just going to get harder from here.
"Mayor Buttigieg likes to quote Leonard Bernstein, 'In order to do something great, you need two things: a plan and not quite enough time,'" Neal said Thursday. "The ambitious scope of this initiative is a challenge, but without that kind of motivation, we couldn't have made so much progress in strengthening neighborhoods in our community."
Beyond just monetary demands, what Neal said is really needed is more partnerships between the city and the community. Property owners are needed for the housesbeing refurbished, he said, and empty lots left after demolition still need to be utilized.
Copyright © 2024, South Bend Tribune