Moline, Rock Island and Kewanee will receive a combined $848,000 in Rebuild Illinois funds to attack blight and vacant properties through the Illinois Strong Community Program.
Those three Quad Cities metropolitan area communities are among 68 units of local governments throughout Illinois who will receive a collective $19 million from the Illinois Housing Development Authority, which funds the SCP program. The dollars are aimed at supporting affordable housing and community revitalization efforts, the IHDA said in a news release.
SCP dollars are awarded to municipalities and land bank authorities for the acquisition, maintenance, rehabilitation and demolition of abandoned residential properties. The program is designed to support local revitalization and attract investment in communities that lack resources to tackle vacant, abandoned and deteriorated properties.
QC area grant recipients
QC entities and nearby communities set to receive funding and their individual grant amounts include:
- Moline – $417,000
- Rock Island – $268,000
- Kewanee – $163,00
- Galesburg – $562,000
- Monmouth – $212,000
- Macomb – $487,000
“Vacant and abandoned properties continue to be a strain on local budgets and resources in communities throughout Illinois, which is why IHDA created the Strong Communities Program to assist local governments with their neighborhood revitalization efforts,” IHDA Executive Director Kristin Faust said in the release.
“Through the Strong Communities Program, IHDA seeks to help communities transform these properties back into positive, revenue-generating assets for neighborhoods.”
Illinois State Sen. Mike Halpin also joined in celebrating the Strong Community Program and the latest round of grants.
“Community blight and vacant properties are a detriment to growth and economic development,” the Rock Island Democrat said. “Getting some of the blight cleaned up is good for property values and gives families and businesses alike all the more reason to move in.”
Program boosts communities
The Rebuild Illinois-funded grants also will help leverage IHDA’s existing funding to increase property values, create jobs, help reduce crime, generate additional tax revenue and attract further community investment in underserved communities around the state. A total of $30 million in grant funding has been awarded through two application rounds.
“My administration is committed to investing in communities across the state, especially those that have been historically underserved,” said Gov. J.B. Pritzker who championed the creation of the Rebuild Illinois infrastructure program that is committed to investing $44.8 billion over six years.
“Thanks to the Strong Communities Program and the Illinois Housing Development Authority, this $19 million in funding will directly support local governments in their infrastructure restoration efforts,” he added. “With a central focus on affordable housing developments, we’re investing in our most important resource – our people – for years to come.”
The Strong Community Program was created in August 2020 in response to the Illinois Community Revitalization Task Force that was created by the Illinois General Assembly to help address vacant and abandoned residential properties.
The program is designed to return vacant residential properties to productive and taxable use through rehabilitation and provide funds for demolition in cases where properties are beyond repair and negatively impact neighboring residences.
The goal is to increase property values, create jobs, help reduce crime, generate additional tax revenue, and attract further community investment.
