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Saturday, June 06, 2009

St. Paul offering Dayton's Bluff homes for as little as $1 to willing rehabbers

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posted by Bob at Saturday, June 06, 2009

2 Comments:

Blogger Bob said...

11 Dayton's Bluff properties for sale — some for a dollar
By Jason Hoppin
jhoppin@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 06/06/2009 12:53:58 AM CDT


Pssst. Wanna buy a house?

For as little as $1, the city of St. Paul will sell you a Dayton's Bluff home on the cheap. But in exchange for an unbelievably good deal, the city is requiring prospective homebuyers to put in the time and money to restore the houses to their former glory.

Quietly, the city has been buying homes in the distressed neighborhood, and the Housing and Redevelopment Authority is set Wednesday to green-light a program calling on prospective rehabbers to submit plans and eventually occupy the homes. Called the 4th Street Preservation Project, the plan represents an unusual insertion of City Hall into the real estate market.

"If we ever want to change the character of the neighborhood and restore it, we need to be in control of those properties," said City Council President Kathy Lantry, who represents the ward.

The city purchased the homes through its Invest St. Paul program, acquiring 11 along several blocks near East Fourth Street. Lantry said the housing-market downturn finally has made it feasible to purchase old Victorians throughout Dayton's Bluff at a discount and restore them. Many have been subdivided and rented over the years.

"When I think of all the things that are coming together, now is the time," Lantry said.

Dayton's Bluff occupies something of a mythic position in local real estate circles. For 20 years, it has been a neighborhood with optimists who look at the area's stock of large homes — some of them dilapidated — and proximity to downtown and wonder when the area finally will turn around.

Sage Holben has lived in Dayton's Bluff for eight years and hopes the program helps. She said many homes were used as drug houses and is glad to see the city trying to spur revitalization.

"There is an almost fanatic love and possessiveness about the way people feel about Dayton's Bluff," Holben said. "People who are living there work well together."

To Holben, the neighborhood is much more about the people than the homes, and she wouldn't mind seeing a home or two razed to make green space for children who live in the area.

One of the $1 homes on the list may meet that fate, having been damaged badly in a fire. Holben said she also would like to see some smaller homes saved.

"I would like to see attention paid to the small houses that were there years and years ago for the working class, because it's still largely a working-class area," Holben said.

Home prices range from $1 to $26,000. Lantry said the city also will take proposals by developers on many or all of the houses on the list — as long as a homeowner is identified who will live in the house.

All rehab work must comply with historic guidelines, and the city will offer technical assistance to homebuyers doing the work. Homebuyers also must qualify for a $140,000 to $170,000 rehabilitation loan.

4:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

To the buddies of Lantry, Thune, and Repke.
Kick Back's look good in this deal.

9:39 AM  

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