City to target neighborhoods ‘left behind’ to blight

WNIN | By Tim Jagielo

Published November 21, 2024 at 1:23 PM CST

Evansville Mayor Stephanie Terry leads a press conference with other city administrators Wednesday afternoon at the 1300 block of Florence Street before a recently razed, blighted house. The city plans to raze 150 in 2025, three times the amount projected for 2024.

The new city of Evansville ‘Fight Blight’ program starts with $550,000 to demolish extra blighted homes in the city — the program needs public input

The demolished house at 1331 Florence Street in Evansville was part of the new Fight Blight program.

Before the wreckage of a recently demolished home Evansville Mayor Stephanie Terry announced a new neighborhood revitalization initiative.

This Fight Blight program starts with $550,000 dollars from interest earned on the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funds (ARPA) to demolish extra homes in the city.

There are four phases. Phase one starts now. This includes those initial demolitions and public input to identify other blighted properties.

Terry said safe neighborhoods are the building blocks of a city, but many neighborhoods still contain blight.

“There are neighborhoods we have left behind,” she said. “One of the goals of my administration, I would say, our primary goal, is to revitalize those neighborhoods.”

In Phase Two, the city will inspect those structures identified in Phase One. In Phase Three, qualifying homes are acquired by the city and demolished.

Phase four is either rehabilitation or revitalization of the property.

Kolbi Jackson, Executive Director of the Department of Metropolitan Development, provides details on the Fight Blight program. She's inviting the public to inform the city of blighted properties in their neighborhood.

Going forward, Kolbi Jackson, Executive Director of the Department of Metropolitan Development said they need resident tips on blighted properties.

“So if you have properties in your neighborhood that exhibit objectively determinable signs of deterioration, that are sufficient enough to constitute a threat to human health, safety or public welfare, that is the definition of blight. Then we ask that you tell us about them.”

These homes will be inspected by the city to determine whether they’re blighted. They'll be ranked by severity to help prioritize areas of need.

"We expect to put an emphasis on clusters of blighted property that could be improved together," Jackson said, "increasing the impact flight fight blight can have on that neighborhood."

For occupied homes, the city will work with property owners to get them up to code.

Terry says with this program, they hope to raze 150 blighted structures in 2025 — three times the projected number in 2024.

Tips on blighted properties can be sent to blight@evansville.IN.gov.

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This blighted home is at Florence Street and Kratzville Road.