A little over five years ago the city of Chillicothe was awarded a $488,000 community development block grant for neighborhood development. Since that time, there have been 19 homes rehabilitated and 16 substandard homes demolished. All of the homes demolished were considered to be dangerous buildings as described by city ordinance and would have cost more than $15 per square foot to rehabilitate. Nine of the homes razed were located within the city’s Third Ward and all of the rehabilitation took place with homes in the Third Ward. “This has been very beneficial to the Third Ward,” said Ann Hamilton, a community developer with Green Hills Regional Planning Commission which was the grant’s administrator. “Everyone there is very thankful that they have had this opportunity.”

The project is now about 95 percent complete and, as part of the grant requirements, the city recently held a public hearing for the project’s closeout. Specifications are being developed to bid out yet another demolition project, which will be that of a two-story house. Depending upon the bids received, it’s possible that enough funds will be left over for the demolition of two trailers, Hamilton said.

Most of the homes demolished had been vacant for more than a year; however, demolition involved relocating five families. Hamilton said that five houses had been donated to the city by Art Haynes and were relocated in the Third Ward for these families. In general, the homes that were razed or rehabilitated were in very poor condition and had extensive structural damage. Some may have had bad roofs, leakage problems, inadequate plumbing, inappropriate furnaces and poor windows.

The city had made several applications for this grant before finally being approved in 2003. These grants no longer exist through the Department of Economic Development, Hamilton said. The city’s cash match for the grant was $30,000, and it’s in-kind contribution was $2,000.