Wabash, Indiana

unsafe structure to be demolished, then we put a lien on the property through property taxes, and you may or may not recover that money.” One of the reasons that residential properties have become run down in Wabash can be attributed to its overall economic situation. “We’ve been in a population decline for a number of years,” Long reports. “Back in 2008, we had a General Tire factory close, here in town. And that was, roughly, 850 jobs that disappeared almost overnight. Obviously, we didn’t have companies with 850 jobs to employ these people. Some of them found jobs, others decided to move elsewhere. So, a lot of the things that I do, right now, are things that I, and the people I work with, think will counter that and encourage people to move to our community. We work hard every day, thinking about our long-term plans: what do we need to do to draw these people in?” One initiative to achieve that goal has been Wabash’s designation as an Indiana Stellar Community since 2014. The Stellar Communities program is a multi-agency partnership designed to fund comprehensive community development projects in Indiana’s smaller communities. Participants include: the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, and the Indiana Department of Transportation. “As a part of the program, the city put up $1.3 million in a fund that was derived from Tax Increment Finance revenue that we had received,” says Long. “That resulted in over $32 million investment in downtown buildings. And, along with that, a lot of these retail buildings have built out their second and third floors for apartments. In one of the projects, we took four side-by-side storefronts, downtown, that, years ago, had apartments above them that had become dilapidated. The project received $8.1 million in tax credit funding to retrofit this building with 41 apartment units, along with one restaurant that remains downstairs. And 80 percent of the units are for 55 and older folks who don’t want to maintain a home any longer. They can live downtown in a nice apartment pictured Charley Creek Inn Boutique Hotel Downtown