801 W 6th
This one gets second place in the "Which of these 8 needed demolition most" contest.
1827 W 6th (Rear House Only)
This one caused me troubles. Therefore... no image. The neighbors were giving me the evil eye, which is good because it means they're at least paying attention to their neighborhood. I got a picture of a house that should have been 1827, only to remember the "rear house" thing. I wondered why a decent-looking house would be torn down. I believe the rear house must be on the one way alley off of Division.
511 E 7th
Not sure who wrote RUSH on the front, but I could see why.
1417 W 4th
There are way too many houses like this on W 4th Street. A few years back one on this block was for sale on the local realtor sites (they all seem to have each others' listings) for $5,000. I think it might have even been this house.
1630 Belle
3117 Farnam
The solo NoLo home on the list. (follow that?) I'm not sure what the story is with this one, but it looked just as bad as the others.
3211 Pansy
This Garden Edition house gets my award for most needed demolition. It is the last house left on either side of the block that hasn't been bought through the federal flood plain money. Getting rid of it should open up new options on what can be done with this area.
620 Wilkes
All of these are both good to get rid of, but also evidence of failure. Houses should never be allowed to deteriorate to the point where they are no longer feasible to repair.
17 comments:
I'll start up the collection with a $100.00 donation,these places are rat traps. FIRE Susanna Knutsen
hire someone from Davenport.The HAPPEN program is a joke and she's the joker. Send her back to Blue Grass where she lives.I live next to these dumps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Isn't part of the problem the long, drawn-out legal process of condemning a property so it can be torn down?
That seems to be the problem in IL at least---too much deference to landowners and not enough to the neighbors and neighborhood.
It's also a bright illustration of the tax certificate method of "investors" gaining title to a property, maybe using it as rental until it falls apart and leaving it to the taxpayers to demolish. Given that there has been a leap in technology, it seems to me that an investigation of title owners and prohibition on any future certificate purchases would be in order. For the cheap shot on Ms. Knutsen-remember that she is working at the direction of a "neighborhood" representative board and is moving the program as best she can. As Paladin rightly points out-the real problem lies in the sale and legal process that "investors" who bought the late night TV-infomercial get rich scheme inflict with no consequences. That and the federal government cutback on CDBG funds that would provide for quicker demolition.
That and all the urban sprawl that davenport promotes. We are building stuff we can't fill up and then wonder why we have so many buildings falling prey to blight - like these.
We need to be smarter instead of listen to the Ruhls and Fosters all the time.
Shelly, you took your own cheap shot at "neighborhood" representatives. The board has residents, a non-profit housing rep and a realtor on it. Now sure if that makes it a neighborhood board, but this board has designed the program, stayed together and working on round three of applications. They are also growing into marketing efforst to support the program and encourage other to move into the central city. Thanks to this board for keeping the program true to its mission instead of caving to not-for-profits who wanted first dibs on these vacant houses and turn them into more rentals.
QCI said "Houses should never be allowed to deteriorate to the point where they are no longer feasible to repair." This is the smartest thing you have said on your blog!! It is also something most people agree to.
I agree Shelly, you are out of line in your comment. I think we all know that you would love to turn every abandoned house in Davenport into low income housing. You of all people should understand what that does to neighborhoods.
Pass the Bactine-that stings. My real problem is that I tend to absorb myself in data-lending, census, property titles-information that may lead to trying figure out some of the root causes of disinvestment and deterioration. The dramas that go on between people that want to "control" or assert power really don't interest me except that they tend to impede progress. No real mixed income development,or incentives to bring higher income investors to neighborhoods SOLO will occur without a concerted effort to address the pattern of redlining. When the data shows that middle and upper income minorities are paying higher costs for loans in this city in general and that ANYONE who lives in an LMI census tract in this city is more likely to pay higher costs for home improvement, refinance, and purchase-that is the problem. They also have a higher likelihood of being turned down just by living in an LMI tract.
Knocking down eight crappy houses will help-who is marketing the lots, who will finance new construction, and where are the banks in supporting the HAPPEN program. Now there is some data that I can't wait to see. BTW-most of the homes that the non-profits have rehabbed (especially through the lead program) have been converted to single family ownership. Don't have access to the specifics on the data this morning, but I can get back to you on that.
The house on Farnham has had an RV parked in the driveway for the last week or so. Perhaps somebody bought it and is planning to rehab it.
I could be wrong, but I think its too late for that.
Maybe a last minute call from the governor though...
I happen to know SHelly that the head of the housing cluster was trying to sabatoge the efforts of the HAPPEN board because he was upset that the neighbors insisted the program not be for low income rentals. There is a segment of this not for profit housing community that has tried to use their influence to control the program. I think the days of wasting housing money is over. The not for profits needs to be telling the community the truth about housing in Davenport. We don't have a shortage of low income or affordable rentals, we have a shortage of appropriate and qualified tenants. We have the highest rental vacancy rate in the area and you not for profits insist we need prefabed cheap low income rentals. The not for profits redline themselves for gosh sake by on;y developing in poor challenged neighborhoods. John Lewis is the worst culprit of this activity. 6th and Vine is one of the worst areas of Davenport - filled with homeless men (some sex ofenders and criminals). We then have a series of low income rentals there with vulnerable women and children. I feel bad for these women because they are at the mercy of thier situation and have to live in such a bad area because that is the only place the not for profits will give them housing. This neighborhood will never revitalize with only low income rentals and 'programs' for people. These areas have become institutionalized. I don't think you know what it will take to revitalize her in Davenport. It was the neighborhood groups that had to force the city and the cluster to look to homeownership and scattered sight housing. it wasn't your groups or the cluster on its own.
The only way we will actually create long lasting change is to work towards private investment and to look away for a while from the free money trough. Free money is easy, but it has strings attached.
A couple hundred thousand for the new lipstick on the entrances to the city could have taken care of this demolition. Isn't it what is on the inside that counts.
Some of what has been said about "leining" on owners and their other property transactions could play. It is funny you go to the DOT and have to pay up on fines to renew a license or tags. It is easier to saddle a city with 50k liability than a $100 unpaid fine.
Oh Shelly, you are btter then the rest of us aren't you?
Isn't there a prefabbed home somewhere for you to build in a poor neighborhood?
Yes I think several of us know Shelley and have been disappointed by her disdain for homeowners that care about their property versus her own behavior. ps stealing curtains on the way out isn't a very classy act either is it??
Shelly runs with the same group of "grantwhores" that are ruining Davenport. It the money is free, then by all means we need to take it and spend it on things like low income housing no matter what. The "grantwhores" like Ridge and several members of the housing cluster make up stats to have it look like we actually are desperately in need of more low income housing in Davenport. Teh sad truth is that we have enough low income housing and these agencies can't fill the units. John Lewis can't fill the units. We don;t have enough qualified and decent people who need affordable housing and who are willing to live insome of these areas. A sad situation. We have too many unqualified folks. So, what does that mean? It measn John Lewis attract criminals to Davenport and then they stay and can't find housing. They ruin our neighborhoods and scare people. Enough with the low income housing in solo, we got enough and can't handle anymore.
John Lewis needs to be investigated and shut down. The I wonder what the admin will do, they won't be able to afford their nolo houses anymore.
No QCI - the people inthe 6th and Warren area were not giving you the evil eye cause they care about thier neighborhood, they are scared this crack haven will be torn down.
By the way - this is John Lewis land, boy they do a great sercice to our community. Drive int his area, they do nothing to rid that area of crack houses. What the heck do they preach that they help that area. It is soooo bad right now.
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