City acquires three blighted properties

The city is purchasing three blighted residential properties with the goal of seeing them 
become new homes.

At its late-November meeting, the Carbondale City Council voted to authorize Interim City Manager Stan Reno to purchase the three properties listed for sale by the county's trustee, Joseph E. Meyers and Associates. The properties are 507 E. Birch St., 614 W. Owens St. and 505 N. Marion St.The total cost for the three properties is $2,412, which 
includes a $750 purchase price for each, along with filing fees.

The low cost is the result of the city's preferred status for purchasing delinquent tax properties from the county, allowing the city to bypass the normal bidding process and acquire properties for the minimum bid amounts.

In many cases, this has proven more cost effective than traditional legal methods for acquiring properties, Reno said.Reno said that once the city has acquired the properties, a process will begin to identify their best future uses.

"In some cases it may be 
rehabilitation of properties," 
Reno said. "In other cases it may be building affordable housing. So, right now we're trying to identify affordable pieces of property in specific areas of the city that have good potential for affordable housing."

Following receipt of a $484,000 grant from the Illinois Housing Development Authority last year, the city has pursued demolition of blighted homes in certain areas of the city. That grant will reimburse the city's cost to purchase the three 
recent properties.