County 7: Vigo

As I walked up the sidewalk to a new home in an old neighborhood in Terre Haute Tuesday, I noticed the sign hanging over the door: “The Sheltons”. Of all the impressive features of the city’s housing efforts, this touched me the most.

Lt. Governor Skillman tours a new housing
development in Terre Haute that received
state funding to create affordable housing
for families.

Terre Haute was one of 21 cities to receive funds from our Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) in May of 2009. These funds were to be used to demolish abandoned and blighted properties and to build new, affordable housing in these struggling neighborhoods.

No city has fared better than Terre Haute at putting these dollars to work quickly and effectively. They cleared away nearly 40 abandoned homes, built 28 new residential units, and banked nearly 20 lots for future development with $1.8 million from the state through NSP and another $1.4 million in other leveraged local funds.

But what I realized as I approached the Shelton residence and their welcome sign is that we are not only building houses, we’re building homes. They are homes for families who might not otherwise be able to afford this American dream.

And these homes are already having a ripple effect. In this older neighborhood, local leaders told me that when they started removing dilapidated structures and building new ones, neighbors started making improvements to their homes on their own. Across the street, one neighbor put new siding on his home to improve its appearance. Others added new roofs, a paint job, or simply cleaned up lawns.

Improving the housing climate in a city has a ripple effect throughout the community. I was pleased to see the progress being made in Terre Haute.