When we began rebuilding the 1200 block of North Gay Street in 2013, almost every house on the block sat abandoned and dilapidated. Over the next six years, we used a phased approach to methodically restore all 29 of the vacant houses on the block, reoccupying the first 21 houses as mixed-income rental housing and then providing the last 8 homes as new high-quality homeownership opportunities for moderate-income homebuyers (one of the vacated rental homes has also been converted to homeownership). Today, the corridor is a dynamic whole block where nobody has to live next to an abandoned house.
After rehabbing the entire block, we have remained committed to ensuring its new residents have a high quality of life. Over the last five years, we have converted the vacant lots along and behind the block into new greenspaces (including a new 25,000 square foot urban garden to be completed in fall 2024), installed new string lighting to make the street safer and more beautiful, and worked with local residents and community leaders to secure new traffic calming features to reduce the threat of speeding cars to local residents. Through this ongoing work, we are working to ensure that we are not only eliminating abandonment, but that we are fostering community.
