The first property in lacasa’s East Lincoln Crossroads Revitalization (ELCR) project is renovated and ready to be leased. lacasa celebrated this milestone with a Ribbon Cutting ceremony at 408 E Lincoln Ave in Goshen on March 30. The event was followed by an Open House. Grace Bonewitz, representing the Community Foundation of Elkhart County, joined us to cut the ribbon.
The East Lincoln Crossroads Revitalization Project is taking 5 dilapidated multi-family houses and renovating them into attractive, safe, and affordable rental options within walking distance of downtown Goshen. These properties were vacant and were safety hazards to the surrounding neighbors. They will now contribute to neighborhood revitalization efforts in an area that will see significant changes in the coming years due to the US 33 reroute. 408 E Lincoln will offer 5 affordable rental units; 4 single bedroom and 1 efficiency.
Funding for the project has been provided by a $250,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Elkhart County, $70,000 from NeighborWorks America, $10,000 from the Mutual Bank Foundation and donations from individuals. Specific additional funding for 408 E Lincoln was provided by the City of Goshen, at $15,000, and the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, through a HOME grant.
lacasa is pairing the Real Estate Development work with a focus on the East Lincoln Crossroads neighborhood through its Community Engagement Specialist, José Elizalde. He will be surveying the neighborhoods in the coming months to get a sense for the perceived assets and threats to the neighborhoods, while also getting a baseline assessment of the state of the neighborhood before lacasa intervention. He will devote significant time in the coming year to working with neighborhood leaders and reinvigorating their neighborhood association.
The East Lincoln Crossroads Revitalization project embodies lacasa’s theory of change, which is to make a focused investment in real estate and people in a neighborhood in order to create a tipping point where the neighborhood’s assets are self-sustaining and invite other investments.
lacasa needs to raise an additional $100,000 in private donations to sustain this project. These donations will be matched by a local anonymous donor, doubling the impact! To make a donation, click on the donate now button below. To find out more about the project and discuss a gift, contact Chris Kingsley, Director of Development, at [email protected] or 574-533-4450 x16.
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