Officials with Owensboro’s community development department said the $15 million Triplett Twist project is nearing completion, and the Northwest Neighborhood Revitalization is expected to start this summer.
Abby Shelton, Community Development Director, said the City of Owensboro was continuing to work on the last phase of the Triplett Twist project in rehabilitating Gabe’s Shopping Center, a project which had been slowed down in recent months.
“We’re slowly getting there,” Shelton said. “We’ve had a couple structural issues we didn’t foresee. We hope to have it done by this summer.”
The 2021-22 Northwest Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area (NRSA) Action Plan will involve an estimated $7.473 million of public and private investments. To be approved as an NRSA, the neighborhood must be contiguous area primarily zoned for residential use.
Shelton’s statistics showed that 1,083 parcels would benefit from the project over the next five years — including 748 single family homes, 73 vacant houses, 31 mobile homes, 33 rental properties, 83 commercial properties, 90 vacant land properties and 20 tax-exempt properties.
In total, the revitalization will help approximately 2,500 people and create 364 projects over the next five years, Shelton added.
According to the action plan, federal CDBG funding will be used for commercial facade rehabilitation and existing homeowner rehab. CDBG funds will also be used for landscape design improvements on 1st and 2nd streets, sidewalk connections, lighting enhancements and bus stop installations.
Programs that will take place over the next five years include down payment assistance, existing homeowner rehab, business facade exterior rehab, landscape beautification, affordable housing incentives, downspout removal and new home builds.
Shelton said funding from the City of Owensboro will total $500,000 and will go toward the single-family rental rehab reimbursement program, the single-family new development program, the single-family rehab by developer program, and 75/25 demolition grants.
There is now a 30-day period for public comments following the first public hearing of the citizens advisory committee that was held Thursday. A second public hearing has not been announced yet, but Shelton said she hoped to submit the action plan to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by May 7.
Those wishing to submit public comments regarding the NRSA can email Shelton at [email protected] or submit written comments by mail to City Hall.
