Cinnaire was honored this week to be among the organizations awarded grants from the Delaware State Housing Authority’s (DSHA) Delaware Strong Neighborhoods Housing Fund.
Seven projects in Delaware, including two Cinnaire supported initiatives, will receive $3.2 million from Delaware’s Strong Neighborhoods Housing Fund to address vacant, abandoned or foreclosed properties, Governor John Carney announced at the May 13th ceremony in Wilmington, DE. Governor Carney was joined by DSHA Director Anas Ben Addi, Dover Mayor Robert Christiansen, elected officials and community leaders from across the state. Cinnaire partner, Reverend Terrence Keeling from Central Baptist Community Development Corporation, was a key speaker at the event addressing the significance of the fund for Delaware communities in need.
“Many of the communities in our state continue to feel the ripple effects of the recession and the foreclosure crisis,” said Governor Carney. “The Strong Neighborhoods program provides organizations working in these communities the resources to acquire abandoned properties, renovate or remove them and build beautiful homes in their place. The funding announced today will directly impact families by improving communities and providing increased access to homeownership.”
The Strong Neighborhoods Housing Fund is used to support community development, address crime and transform neighborhoods that are experiencing blight or other forms of stress. Through the program, abandoned properties are removed, renovated or replaced and sold to low-income residents who then become homeowners.
“These projects will be helping families and individuals who need housing, while strengthening the neighborhoods in which they are located, revitalizing properties that have fallen into disrepair and bringing people back to live in them,” said DSHA Director Anas Ben Addi.
This is the third round of funding since the Strong Neighborhoods Housing Fund was launched in 2015. The investment of $3.2 million will leverage an estimated $9.4 million in private or other funding sources and lead to 64 new or rehabilitated housing units in Wilmington, New Castle County, Dover, Milford and Georgetown.
Cinnaire, in partnership with the Central Baptist Community Development Corporation, received a $500,000 award to address and rehabilitate 10 vacant properties in Wilmington’s East Side Neighborhood. Cinnaire also received a $450,000 award for the acquisition, demolition and new construction of nine long-term vacant properties in Wilmington’s West Center City Neighborhood. This project is a partnership between Cinnaire Solutions and the Delaware Valley Development Co., a long-standing Delaware-based affordable housing developer.
Cinnaire extends congratulations to our partners that also received awards: Central Baptist CDC, Central Delaware Habitat for Humanity, Milford Housing Development Corporation, NCALL Research, Inc., New Castle County Government, Sussex County Habitat for Humanity, and Wilmington Neighborhood Conservancy Land Bank.
Additional Awards Addressing Vacant and Blighted Homes in Delaware
- Wilmington Neighborhood Conservancy Land Bank was awarded $505,000 to acquire and demolish 10 or more vacant properties on the 600 block of North Jefferson Street in Wilmington’s West Center City. This project supports the same neighborhood of vacant properties as one of Cinnaire’s project.
- New Castle County Department of Community Services was awarded $400,000 to continue revitalization efforts along the Route 9 corridor. Funds will be used to purchase and renovate four blighted and vacant homes in the Collins Park community and four additional homes in the distressed community of Edgemoor Gardens.
- NCALL Research was awarded $500,000 to support 10 newly constructed homes in the Restoring Central Dover target area within the Downtown Development District (DDD). This project is a partnership between NCALL and Central Delaware Habitat for Humanity.
- Milford Housing Development Corporation (MHDC) received a $350,000 award to support seven newly constructed or rehabilitated homes in Milford. This work will take place in the neighborhoods surrounding downtown Milford where several DDD projects are already underway.
- Sussex County Habitat for Humanity was awarded $500,000 to identify and acquire 10 properties in the Kimmeytown neighborhood in Georgetown. Two properties will be sold to the MHDC to reconstruction or rehabilitate.
Since the launch of the Strong Neighborhoods Housing Fund in 2015, $11.25 million has been awarded to organizations throughout the state, leveraging an estimated $34.2 million in private and other investment. The program was initially funded using one-time bank settlement dollars and is now funded with a $3 million allocation in the FY 2019 state bond bill. Including the awards announced this week, the Strong Neighborhood Housing Fund has provided resources to remove, renovate, or replace more than 230 blighted properties throughout the state.
