R2004-105 AUTHORIZING FUND REALLOCATION

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:� CITY OF DECATUR. ILLINOIS HOME COMPETITIVE REALLOCATION On May 15, 2000, Decatur took a major step toward preserving and revitalizing the oldest part of the city. The City Council adopted an ordinance establishing the Olde Towne Redevelopment Plan and Project Area and authorized Tax Increment Financing to finance redevelopment project costs. Council found that"the Redevelopment Project Area on the whole has not been subject to growth and development through investment by private enterprise and would not reasonably be anticipated to be developed without the adoption of the Redevelopment Plan." Along with rehabilitation and redevelopment of blighted sections of the downtown, anticipated use of the Tax Increment funds includes visual enhancement of the residential axea through streetscaping and signage. These improvements will significantly help stabilize and preserve this affordable, historic neighborhood. D. INCREASING THE SUPPLY OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING WITH ACCESS TO JOB OPPORTUNITIES Decatur directly pursues policies and activities that address its long-standing need for new affordable housing. Market and economic conditions have all but stopped the production of new housing within the City of Decatur for the past two decades. According to the 2000 Census, of the 33,597 housing units in Decatur only 1,197 (3.5%)were built from 1990 to March 2000, and only 2,215 (or 6.6%) from 1980 to 1989.3 Only 834 building permits were issued from 1990 through 2002 for new single-family home construction, and nearly all of these were located on the outskirts of the City and geared to retirees or to higher-end buyers. A report issued in December 2000 by the Decatur Housing Authority said that in the decade since 1990 only thee new homes were constructed in four typical inner-city neighborhoods. Market conditions present a particular disincentive for the development of new rental housing: Virtually no new market rate rental housing has been constructed within the city limits since the � early 1980s. Lack of new multi-family development has tightened the market at all rental levels, I, and subsidized rental developments generally have extensive waiting lists. ��I For these reasons, the Consolidated Plan identified construction of new affordable housing as a top priority. Priority lA cited the need for new affordable homeownership units, and Priority 1B addressed the need for new affordable rental housing. In response to this need, Decatur has undertaken the largest redevelopment effort in its history: the Near North Revitalization Project. The Near North has excellent access to public transportation, shopping, and job opportunities. However, this neighborhood was historically characterized by an aged and severely deteriorated housing stock,persistent poverty, and concentrated criminal and drug activity. In the early 1990s the City began allocating CDBG funds to acquire property as a foundation for subsequent private investment in the neighborhood. In 1999 this strategy paid off when the Decatur Housing Authority was awarded a$34.8 million HOPE VI grant to revitalize the adjacent Longview Place public housing development. The HOPE VI grant, along with the City's investment in this area, became the catalyst for a 120-acre, $100+million public-private partnership,which is transforming the Near North neighborhood into a viable, economically integrated community. 3 Estimated due to sample and partial tract data. PAGE 9 �