Home-preservation group seeks Urbana council's support
By Mike Monson
Sunday October 26, 2008
Darrell Hoemann/The News-Gazette
Carolyn Baxley of the Urbana Development Group, a nonprofit corporation, is working with the city to develop a program where the group would buy, renovate and then sell to families old rental homes in West Urbana. The group is in the process of purchasing 508 W. Elm St. and plans to spend $75,000 renovating it. She is on the porch of the Elm Street property.
URBANA – West Urbana doesn't jump out immediately as a neighborhood in need of improvement.
Full of large, century-old homes, it was voted one of the 10 "great places in America" in the neighborhoods category last year by the American Planning Association.
But Dan Folk, Carolyn Baxley and some other residents think more can be done in west Urbana; namely, fixing up some of the older homes that have been converted into student rental apartments and converting them back into owner-occupied homes.
They've formed a nonprofit community development corporation, the Urbana Development Group, whose mission is to carry out that goal. And it appears likely the Urbana City Council will vote in coming weeks to provide the group with financial backing.
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