After weeks of resistance, Springfield aldermen have given a green light for the city’s acquisition of more than 70 properties in the Enos Park neighborhood to prevent them from being sold for delinquent property taxes.
The Enos Park Neighborhood Improvement Association owns those properties through a limited liability corporation set up to acquire and rehab properties and then resell them… but the group has struggled to keep up with the tax payments. Aldermen initially balked at paying nearly $300,000 to purchase the properties. But the cost of acquiring the homes has been revised downward to $255,000… with $200,000 coming from a state grant, requiring only $55,000 in community development block grant funds from the city.
Mayor Jim Langfelder hopes the city can bundle some of the properties for development associated with the nearby medical district.
