$1M in funds up for grabs in Peabody

PEABODY – The fate of nearly $1 million lies in the hands of the City Council, but Community Development Director Jean Delios would like to see the money put towards a pilot program that develops affordable housing and reduces the number of distressed properties throughout the city.In a memo to the Council last week, Delios proposed the idea of using funds received from the Inclusionary Zoning buyouts of the Fairfield Development on Dearborn Road to develop a program that would “combat the trend” of foreclosed, damaged, abandoned, and boarded up houses.”The impact of these distressed properties on neighborhoods is devastating,” she said.Three foreclosed properties located on Park Street are of particular concern to Delios. Two of the three have gone to public auction, but remain vacant and boarded up.Her memo suggests using the funds to help owners rehabilitate the homes and get them back on the market, so long as they are either rented or sold as affordable housing.”By providing financing to homebuyers of distressed properties, we could require project design review and ensure that it fits the neighborhood,” she wrote.Councilor Arthur Athas hopes to use the funds sooner than later, in one way or another.”We have ideas, it’s just a matter of acting on them,” he said.It’s been over a year since the city acquired the funds from the developer of Dearborn who opted to pay the lump sum, rather than create affordable housing, an option approved solely by the Council under great discretion.”This particular section could use a little uplift,” said Athas of the Park Street units. He also mentioned other ideas the Council has tossed around for using the $1 million, such as expanding on the current Housing Rehabilitation program that provides loans at no interest rate for homeowners in need of repairs.”We’ve been very active in trying to?develop some proactive ways to deal with (distressed properties),” said Delios. “I thought, well, we have this potential funding source, maybe if we try it as a pilot program and see how it works, it could be something we could continue.”The matter will be discussed further in the Industrial and Community Development Subcommittee at their next meeting, which has yet to be scheduled.