Block By Block Looking For Homeowners For Renovated Properties

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By Chris Earl

Story Created: Feb 8, 2010 at 5:06 PM CST

Story Updated: Feb 8, 2010 at 6:09 PM CST

CEDAR RAPIDS – After a fall and winter of marking the progress along certain flood-damaged blocks in Cedar Rapids, the organization Block by Block is now trying to find owners for the homes the group has finished renovating.

“We’ve got eight to ten houses,” said Matt Mayer, project manager for Block by Block. “Two are ready to go right now. We just need to find some homeowners.”

This Thursday at 7 PM and Saturday at 2 PM, the group will host informational meetings for people interested at St. James United Methodist Church at 1430 Ellis Boulevard NW.

Mayer is spending an afternoon walking through a two-story, three-bedroom home at 1305 9th Street NW. New carpets cover the floors and stairs before leading to a finished wood floor upstairs. The smell of fresh paint on the walls fills the home, which sits on a double lot.

The 1300 block of 9th Street NW is one of the areas Block by Block has targeted since the Flood of 2008 damaged so many homes.

Mayer said any interested buyer for their rehabbed properties must be qualified for financing but Block by Block also works with lenders to try and find people.

Mayer also said that the people who do move into the Block by Block homes must sign the organization’s covenant.

“They will have to participate in events and neighborhood activities,” said Mayer. “The neighbors here are excited to find homeowners for the houses.”

Mayer describes the finished property at 1305 9th Street NW as “essentially a brand new home in the city of Cedar Rapids”. He said this particular home took “four or five” months of gutting, insulation work and heating to get it ready for the market.

He said the sale price for this property has not been determined and that it may have to be based off the assessment before the flood two years.

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