New construction appears on lots that were part of the Elwood Blight Elimination Program

Dec. 1—ELWOOD — In 2015, a big yellow bulldozer was sent to 800 N. 16th St. to knock over a house that clearly had seen better days.

Grass was planted, and in the ensuing years, the lot in the heart of Elwood remained a vacant plot of greenspace.

But over the past couple of months, a building has been erected, returning life to the lot like a phoenix rising from the flames.

"In the back of our minds, we always wanted to build new homes on those lots, but the real estate market wasn't good," said Bill Savage, Elwood's planning director and special projects adviser.

The home is one of 52 that was demolished by the city through its Blight Elimination Project, in partnership with Elwood Redevelopment Commission and Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority.

Elwood is one of several communities in Madison County that has tried to revitalize its core neighborhoods by removing structures no longer suitable for habitation.

Jeffersonville-based New Hope services rebuilt one single-family home and 11 two-bedroom duplex homes intended as senior housing on 12 formerly blighted lots. National builder Century Complete, which has offices in Indianapolis, is in the process of building 10 homes on eight formerly blighted lots, including the one on 16th Street.

In addition, Elwood Redevelopment has advertised three additional blight elimination lots for sale and attracted a potential buyer who hopes to build three single-family homes there.

"We've got people looking seriously at Elwood right now to build single-family homes," Savage said.

The city hasn't offered any special incentives to attract builders, said Mayor Todd Jones.

Rebuilding on the lots increases the amount of urban housing available; raises the assessed value of surrounding properties, which lets more taxes be collected; and, hopefully, lures potential workers as the city tries to attract new economic development, city officials said.

"We get stuff back on the property tax rolls," Savage said. "Even if we have neighbors who want a bigger property, that gets things back on the property tax rolls, but the new housing really is the ideal situation."

Century Complete's homes, which range from 1,500 to 2,400 square feet at a cost of $188,000 to $202,000, have mostly been spoken for, he said.

The intent of the redevelopment commission always has been to get these properties back onto the tax rolls, whether through renovation or new construction, Jones said.

"Projects like this take many different individuals and entities all working together to be a success," he stressed. "The result of these successes has improved quality of life, stabilized neighborhood property values and have eradicated blight that has been a drain on city resources."

Elwood economic director and executive director of the Elwood Chamber of Commerce, Marcy Fry, said her parents have lived for 63 years in a neighborhood where one of the homes was razed and is being rebuilt.

"To see a home come down and witness a new home go up in that neighborhood, I actually got to watch it firsthand."

The new homes also are a vehicle for showing off the skills of the workforce, Fry said.

"People who are wanting to investing our community, they will see we are not stagnant," she said. "We're not slowing down. We are moving in the right direction."

Follow Rebecca R. Bibbs on Twitter at @RebeccaB_THB, or call 765-640-4883.