Are you interested in owning a new home near the Notre Dame campus, but wonder if you can afford it? Consider attending a meeting on campus Wednesday, June 26, at 9 a.m. or 3 p.m. in the Mason Services Center. Representatives from the South Bend Heritage Foundation and the affiliated Northeast Neighborhood Revitalization Organization (NNRO) will share affordable homeownership opportunities available on Turnock Street, just a few blocks from campus.
Making homeownership affordable
Recently, the University of Notre Dame announced it donated three lots on Turnock Street to the NNRO with the intention that the lots become part of a newly formed community land trust, the first of its kind in Indiana.
Community land trusts are nonprofit corporations that hold and lease land on behalf of a community-based place, such as a city or neighborhood, for the purpose of maintaining access to affordable housing. The purchase price for a community land trust home costs less because the homeowner is buying only the house, not the land.
More about the homes
Five owner-occupied dwellings — one detached single-family home and two duplexes — are planned for the street. The NNRO is partnering with the South Bend Heritage Foundation, its longtime operations manager, to develop these parcels.
The NNRO has been a catalyst in the transformation of the Northeast Neighborhood for more than two decades. Through the generous support of funding partners and neighborhood residents who generously give their time and talent, the NNRO has helped stabilize critical sections of the neighborhood for residential and commercial investment. Current funding partners include the city of South Bend, Oak Lawn and the University of Notre Dame.
The single-family house will be similar to the first community land trust three-bedroom home that the NNRO built and sold in the neighborhood at 705 N. St. Louis Blvd. The two duplex buildings will be two-stories and based on the pre-approved infill plans by the city.
If you have any questions, please contact Kristin Givens, director of marketing and strategic initiatives with the South Bend Heritage Foundation, at KristinG@sbheritage.org.