Dayton approves $1.8 million to repair 100 homes in six targeted neighborhoods

Dayton has approved a $1.8 million grant agreement with Rebuilding Together Dayton.

The agreement provides funding to the nonprofit to improve homes that are unsafe or in poor condition in the Wolf Creek, Carillon, Edgemont and Miami Chapel neighborhoods in west and southwest Dayton, plus the Five Oaks and Old North Dayton neighborhoods north of downtown.

The grant money comes from the $138 million the city received in federal COVID rescue funds.

The funding can be used for plumbing, electrical and structural upgrades to homeowner-occupied homes, said Dayton City Manager Shelley Dickstein.

This work is part of a strategy to improve housing quality in the city, Dickstein said.

Low-income homeowners who need a little help caring for their properties can take part in the program, Dickstein said.

“We want to continue to encourage this kind of reinvestment in our most vulnerable communities,” Dickstein said in a statement.

Rebuilding Together Dayton usually gives preference to homeowners 60 and older, or who have disabilities.

A goal of this program and the Dayton Recovery Plan is to stabilize targeted neighborhoods, says a memo from Todd Kinskey, Dayton’s director of planning, neighborhoods and development.

About 75 to 100 homes could receive funding for repairs and improvements, which should help residents remain in their homes and increase overall neighborhood satisfaction, city documents state. At that number of homes, the assistance could average about $20,000 per property.

Too many local homeowners live in unsafe conditions, said Hayashi, with the Rebuilding Together Dayton board.

Some don’t have heat or hot water. Others have leaking roofs or electrical problems.

The city’s funding over the next three years will be used for supplies and materials for repairs and modifications, as well as to pay to hire skilled-trades workers to make specialized repairs, said Amy Radachi, president and CEO of Rebuilding Together Dayton.

All of the work will be completed by local contractors and also by volunteers through a “National Rebuilding Day” program, which occurs on the last Saturday in April, she said.

The nonprofit has helped repair more than 1,000 homes across the city since 1996.

Each qualified household will receive a 25-point assessment from the National Center for Healthy Housing by a construction coordinator, Radachi said.

Repair priorities include fixing health and safety issues, along with addressing any outstanding code violations, she said.