During the past year, WSOS Community Action Commission Inc. has been working to revitalize communities in its four-county region through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
Rob Grimm, rehabilitation specialist, said WSOS has been using NSP, a program offered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, since last July to improve areas with foreclosed and blighted properties.
"The whole purpose is to beautify and stabilize the neighborhoods," Grimm said.
Last week, WSOS purchased four lots on Spruce Street in Fostoria through the program. Grimm said WSOS plans to construct two buildings on the lots which are to be donated to the Seneca County Opportunity Center.
"It's a great program and will create homes accessible for people with disabilities," Lew Hurst, superintendent at the opportunity center, said.
Hurst said he heard about a similar program through a national speaker and suggested it to WSOS.
"It was a joint effort," Hurst said.
Grimm said five contractors have submitted bids for the project, but the contract has not been awarded.
He said WSOS looks for properties that can be rehabilitated and sold as low- to moderate-income housing.
Grimm said a number of blighted structures in Fostoria and other cities have been demolished. WSOS is working with six Habitat for Humanity groups to build new housing on these properties.
Grimm said the Neighborhood Stabilization Program has given WSOS another tool to help people in need of quality housing and an opportunity to beautify the region.
