R2024-224 Resolution Authorizing an Amendment to the Central Illinois Land Bank Authority Agreement

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The land bank has established a great track record leveraging the City's investment in its programs to bring in additional resources. Besides the $1 Million plus in IHDA grants received over the past year, CILBA staff also wrote a$10 Million application for a HUD PRO Housing grant in Fall 2023 —the City/CILBA and all other applicants are still awaiting a decision from HUD on grant awards with the minimum being$2 Million. This is still-pending grant was also made possible by the city's dedication of ARPA funds for rehab. CILBA created the"Abandonment to Rehab"program in response to Teska's Housing and RE Market Analysis that highlighted thousands of abandoned housing units in the city. While the City funds demolition work and homeowner occupied rehabs,there are no strategies that address rehabbing vacant homes at any scale. CILBA identified this as an opportunity to pilot new housing strategies with ARPA funding-then bring additional state/federal and private dollars to match the City's investment. Each of the ten homes will be brought up to code. Buyers are required to sign an affidavit to ensure the property will be homeowner occupied. Besides home rehabs, CILBA is also playing a critical role in connecting with key community partners to build out a holistic strategy for community development work. For example, the city has partnered with Land of Lincoln Credit Union to provide low-interest loans for emerging contractors. Several contractors, including MWBE and Veteran owner businesses,working on both CILBA"Abandonment to Rehab"and roof replacement projects,have taken advantage of this resource. In order to scale rehab work in Decatur, a deeper contractor pool is necessary to complete more projects. Emerging contractors lacking deep pockets need assistance to build a track record and move on to conventional Lines of Credit. CILBA's goal is to help the City deepen its contractor pool so additional grant funds can be spent effectively/quickly. CILBA recognizes that other partners such as the Community Investment Corporation of Decatur (CICD)also play a critical role—particularly in homeownership education. While CILBA can rehab homes,Housing Action Illinois has estimated that a pool of 8-10 eligible/qualified homebuyers is needed to sell a rehab home. The land bank fully understands that collaboration with other partners is extremely important to scale rehab work. CILBA is excited to partner with CICD and help it succeed with homeownership education efforts. Similarly, CICD's homeownership classes won't be as impactful unless there is a pipeline of affordable, code- compliant homes for people to purchase. This additional $250K for the abandonment program was anticipated and was included in the 2024 budget. INPUT FROM OTHER SOURCES: City staff and CILBA Executive Director, Mike Davis. STAFF REFERENCE: City Manager, Scot Wrighton or Deputy City Manager Jon Kindseth can address any questions related to this agreement.