City ponders purchasing more vacant lots for redevelopment

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) — City leaders will soon vote on whether to spend thousands of dollars on vacant lots.

The city is already selling hundred of these empty properties, so why buy more?

The city says it's all about redevelopment.

An ordinance up for debate at Wednesday's city council meeting proposes over $86,000 to buy empty land... 107 pieces of it.

These lots are all coming from Sangamon County tax sales, but Springfield is already mowing and maintaining the lots.

"From that standpoint, it made sense," said Mayor Jim Langfelder. "We're caring for those properties already, so we thought it would be best to bring them in."

The ordinance outlines a plan to develop or maintain greenspace for the neighborhood and give residents or companies the chance to use it.

Langfelder says this could be new housing, a community garden, a neighborhood park... really, anything but empty.

"It was cheaper or less expensive for us to buy them and integrate them, hopefully within a neighborhood plan, a redevelopment plan," Langfelder said.

Springfield resident Stephanie Conaway is expecting a baby and says she'd love to have a mini park to use in her neighborhood.

"I think they're good community things so that we can take our kids out to play and everything," Conaway said.

These lots are located all over the city, but most are concentrated in the Pillsbury neighborhood and on Springfield's east side.

The city is aiming to build affordable housing in these areas so that some of those empty lots will eventually become new neighbors.

It's another step in the east side revitalization.

"I think we've finally got the resources coming together to the capacity it needs to be," Langfelder said.

Many of these vacant lots fall in Ward 3.

Alderman Roy Williams says he supports this project as long as the city can maintain the lots before they're developed or sold.

The city says more houses have been demolished in east side neighborhoods, so that's really where they're aiming to build.

We're told they're coming up with new plans to rehab houses in the Pillsbury neighborhood so they don't end up with more empty lots there too.

The Springfield city council is set to discuss this ordinance at Wednesday's city council meeting.