Today's News-Gazette:
The city council voted Tuesday to convey three city-owned lots to not-for-profit groups that want to build affordable homes on them, including a lot that currently houses a mini-park across the street from King Elementary School.
Council members voted to convey the mini-park lot, at 1201 W. Beslin St., and a lot at 1405½ W. Beslin to Habitat for Humanity of Champaign County, and a third lot at 901 N. Division Ave. to Ecological Construction Laboratory for Affordable Housing Development.
The city is providing the lots for $1 each, expecting that the groups will build affordable homes there, said John Schneider, manager of the city's grants management division.
The minipark lot at 1201 W. Beslin has been the site of large gatherings and concerns about drug use, and council members didn't want those activities near a school, said Eileen Gebbe, executive director of Habitat for Humanity.
Discuss.
The lot at 1201 was a mini park, across the street from King Elementary, which had been attracting undesired gatherings of post-teenagers.. The district's concil member and nearby residents approved.
The lot at 901 is on a spur on the south end of Division St which has been an entry point to Lakeside Terrace. Any house on that lot probably had been condemend and torn down. No for-profit devloper would be interesed
I suspect the lot at 1405 1/2 also once had a condemned house. No private developer would be interested.
Michael Fuerst
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