DAYTON, Ohio — The City of Dayton is investing $1.8 million in federal recovery money to renovate or repair owner-occupied homes in several of its low-income or vulnerable neighborhoods.
What You Need To Know
- Dayton is using $1.8 million in federal recovery money to make home repairs across the city
- The program is a partnership with Rebuilding Together Dayton
- Residents must own the property they live in, be up to date on property taxes and live in a select neighborhood to qualify
- The initiative is part of the ongoing Dayton Recovery Plan
The city announced the plan late Wednesday after receiving approval from the City Commission. Funding comes from Dayton’s pool of American Rescue Plan Act money.
Work will be done with the organization Rebuilding Together Dayton.
Eligible work includes items ranging from restoring plumbing and electrical systems to structural repairs. The goal is to benefit at least 100 homeowners while also revitalizing a half-dozen Dayton neighborhoods.
“Rebuilding Together Dayton provides a much-needed service in our community,” said City Manager Shelley Dickstein. “These low-income homeowners are nominated by their neighbors and friends who understand that they just need a little help to care for their homes. We want to continue to encourage this kind of reinvestment in our most vulnerable communities.”
Rebuilding Together Dayton has provided renovation and repair services to Dayton area residents since 1996. The community supported organization has repaired more than 1,000 homes in neighborhoods throughout Montgomery County since its inception.
For perspective, the organization performed 1,563 repairs at 215 Dayton-area homes in 2021 alone. Those projects, which benefited 346 residents, cost about $1.4 million.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to serve those homeowners in need of repairs and modifications that will allow them to be safe in their homes and communities,” said Amy Radachi, president and CEO of Rebuilding Together Dayton.
The exact location of properties haven’t been determined and likely will be the same as the focus areas of other housing programs related to the Dayton Recovery Plan — Old North Dayton, Five Oaks, Wolf Creek, and Carillon, Edgemont and Miami Chapel.
In the past, Rebuilding Together Dayton has focused specifically on low-income Dayton area homeowners, particularly the elderly and disabled. But the program will be open to anyone who lives in those designated neighborhoods.
Eligible properties must be owner-occupied, and the owners need to be current on their property taxes. Rebuilding Together Dayton will also look at its database to determine if there are any homes on its waiting list eligible for repairs.
Once an application is deemed qualified, Rebuilding Together Dayton will send its construction coordinator to perform a 25-point assessment on the home. Based on the budget, they’ll determine what can be done for the property.
The plan is to focus on health and safety repairs and addressing any outstanding code violations first.
There is no maximum amount on how much can be used on a single property. But the city encouraged Rebuilding Together Dayton to “help as many people as possible,” Radachi said.
“All the work will be completed by local contractors and volunteers, and all funds will be leveraged by working with other stakeholders committed to the targeted areas,” she added.
On April 29, hundreds of volunteers will be making improvements on homes in Edgemont, Carillon and Miami Chapel.
The $1.8 million is going to be on a reimbursement basis, but it has to be spread out over the next three and a half years, per the contract.
The neighborhoods selected by the city are those with the most homes in need of work.
The home repairs come amid sweeping efforts by City Hall to clean up and improve quality of life across Dayton neighborhoods.
In a city survey last year, residents identified demolition of blighted or abandoned properties as the top concern.
As of late June, more than 1,000 properties had been identified for demolition. Dayton is dedicating $15.8 million of $55 million in the Dayton Recovery Plan to target stabilization and demolition over the next three years.
Typically, the city spends $1 million on demolitions each year.
The homes Rebuilding Together Dayton will work on are not set for demolition. Rather, the city views investing in these homes will help prevent further deterioration.
“The city’s plan to demolish these blighted properties is critical to the stabilization of the neighborhoods where we are working because many of our homeowners are living next to those houses,” Radachi said.
Funding for the Rebuilding Together Dayton initiative comes from the Dayton Recovery Plan, a $138 million framework for community investment funded through the pandemic-related American Rescue Plan Act.
The Dayton Recovery Plan is designed to create “transformation and sustainable” projects that benefit targeted communities. They also help improve the quality of life in Dayton neighborhoods to attract new residents and businesses.
Dayton earmarked $55 million of those federal dollars for its Improving Our Neighborhoods component of the plan. It focuses on improving housing conditions, providing in-fill and new housing and rehab and repair.
The $1.8 million used for the Rebuilding Together Dayton home repairs represents 1.3% of that total fund pool.
“This level of federal funding is truly unprecedented in how it’s providing needed resources to so many of our communities,” Radachi said.
More information is available on the Dayton Recovery Plan website.