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Neighborhoods find solutions to Houses from Hell

Story by Liz Zamora

9:13 p.m. Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Many folks we spoke to believe ultimately the responsibility of abandoned houses falls on the property owners. But they also believe there is a point where the community, the city and private citizens must often take the matters of abandoned houses into their own hands.

"This lot had three houses on it," says Karen Hiller from Topeka Housing and Credit Counseling.

She shows off improvements made in the Tennessee Town neighborhood. The area had received community block grants from the city for revitalization on several fronts.

Housing and Development Director Randy Speaker explains the city's strategy.

"We tear down the delapidated houses. We rehab those that can be rehabbed and we work on the infrastructure," he says.

Speaker says Tennessee Town is a perfect example of a neighborhood using several different resources to improve a blighted area.

Chesney Park is also a target area for revitalization. Several houses have been knocked down in the past two years, leaving many empty lots. Long-time resident Frank Hogue believes there's been some energy from the city in getting in-fill housing. In-fill housing is basically just putting new houses where old ones have been torn down. These houses in Tennessee Town are all examples of in-fill housing.

But Speaker says improvements are needed in order to attract the new construction.

Chesney Park neighborhood is also looking toward rehabbing the houses along Central Park street. At least twenty homeowners could be approved for grants to fix up their homes. Neighbors hope that fix-up fever will spread throughout the neighborhood.

Kevin Wilson explains the domino effect.

"They are doing something to their house, so let's do something to mine and hopefully that continues," he says.

But once the houses are knocked down, there are often empty lots.

ACORN Chair Carlos Martinez says, "One solution is making a land bank. Make a bank, then you can develop that area."

Here's how a land bank works. As houses are torn down in a given area, those lots can be bought by a community group or non-profit and put into what's called a land bank. When several plots of land together become available, then they can be sold to a developer to build new construction, preferably single family homes.

The Elmhurst Neighborhood Association used block grant money to knock down three houses and will use the area to put in a park. Neighbors say the process wasn't a quick fix. It took about seven years to get to this point.

The city also offers what is called the TOTO program, or Topeka Opportunity To Own, encouraging renters to become homeowners. The program requires only a $500 down payment for a home costing less than $65,000. The potential homeowner must meet income guidelines and could get up to $25,000 for renovations if you buy within one of these target areas.

Hugh Hannagan of Housing and Credit Counseling, Inc. says, "The object of the program wasn't only to rehab the houses, but was to get stability in the neighborhoods."

Many neighbors would like to see more houses saved before they reach the point of no return.

Frank Hogue believes, "The real secret is to get those houses before they get deteriorated."

Executive Director of Housing and Credit Counseling Inc. believes, "If the foundation is good, you can rebuild almost anything."

At the end of 2005, Mayor Bill Bunten put together a task force to look at cleaning up Topeka.

It had several suggestions to help smooth the process of demolition, one of which was to only allow houses to be boarded up for three years. Another would give the public an opportunity buy houses slated for demolition.