The City of Vandalia’s Economic Development Commission discussed housing and potential options to find more housing going forward.
Alexander Benishek with the City of Mattoon and Small Town Solutions was on hand as the guest speaker to talk about some different opportunities when it comes to finding more affordable housing for communities. Benishek brought along some statistics to the meeting, including that about 13% of the homes in Vandalia at this time are vacant. But, he said that’s not a major difference in what it is everywhere–as it is just slightly above the national average. Put he said that’s a number of homes that could either be brought back or potentially demolished and new homes built on the property. He also discussed several other different options, such as walking surveys in your community to identify these homes and get more information. Also, the possibility of fast track demolitions and possible renovations, along with looking at options such as 55+ housing communities and other such options. City of Vandalia Economic Development Director Amber Daulbaugh says she was happy to see a large and engaged crowd on hand for the meeting. And, she says there’s a ton of options on the table.
Mayor Doug Knebel also was pleased with the participation of the EDC with this topic.
And, Mayor Knebel says there’s certainly a lot of options out there when it comes to trying to improve the housing market for the community.
The Economic Development Commission will now take a bit of a break for the holidays, with their next meeting set for January 28th.
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