(January 28, 2019) A news conference was held this afternoon at the office of Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke to announce Vectren is planning to invest $5.5 million in workforce housing in Evansville neighborhoods over the next five years.

The initial $1 million allocation will to go toward single-family home construction and repair beginning this spring in the Jacobsville neighborhood. The investment includes $4.5 million for multi-family projects strategically located throughout the city, and Vectren is currently in discussions with developers on other projects.

The new housing units will target income-eligible families and individuals. For example, a family of four with an annual household income of $22,785 would qualify for an opportunity to own their own home. It is estimated the City of Evansville is approximately 1,500 to 3,000 units short of meeting affordable housing needs in our community.

“This illustrates the power of land banking once blighted property. All of the sites where we are building are lots that came from our blight elimination program,” Mayor Winnecke said. “This is affirmation that land banking works. It’s affirmation that land banking is a critical key to our city as we try to rebuild the city’s housing stock.”

Strategic partners in the effort include the City of Evansville, HOPE of Evansville and Habitat for Humanity of Evansville and Vectren.

Click the link to watch video of the news conference: https://youtu.be/eIpwBA3zO24