MUNCIE — When a city has 4,700 empty or abandoned properties — 15 percent of its housing stock — getting four houses and six vacant lots in the hands of new owners might seem like less than a drop in the bucket or grain of sand on the beach.
It is, however — at least officials say — a start.
Muncie’s Neighborhood Investment Committee is trying to find would-be urban homesteaders who are willing to invest a little money, a lot of work and years of commitment to claim, repair and settle into a formerly abandoned house.
And when some of the 10 properties initially offered by the city find a new owner, the Neighborhood Investment Committee will add others to the list to be marketed, in hopes of getting more vacant lots and houses occupied and back on the property tax rolls.
It’s a process that has its critics, and even NIC members acknowledge it could take years — maybe many years — for residents to reclaim some of the thousands of empty houses in Muncie.
“There is no easy solution,” attorney Megan Quirk, one of the NIC members, told The Star Press. Another NIC member, retired Ball State University official John Fallon, added, “There’s nothing more exciting than rebuilding your community.”
When a community needs as much rebuilding as Muncie needs, though, the task can seem nearly impossible.
‘Still has good bones’
“There’s a lot of opportunity here,” said Brad King, the city’s historic preservation officer and another NIC board member.
King was showing a Star Press reporter and photographer one of the first 10 properties for which NIC is trying to find new owners.