Can faith save a Muncie neighborhood?

MUNCIE – What does it take to save a Muncie neighborhood characterized by a consultant as beyond rehabilitation?

For starters, a little faith.

Citing research conducted by PlaceEconomics, a Washington, D.C., real estate/economic development consultant, The Star Press reported two years ago that the future of the South Central Neighborhood as a place to live was in doubt.

Pastor Andrew Draper, founder of Urban Light Community Church, which serves the neighborhood; Draper's wife, Leslie, founder of Inspire Academy, a public charter school that serves the neighborhood; and others are challenging the consultant's findings.

"We have hope that God can fix anything broken and that Jesus Christ is in the business of restoring all things," Draper told The Star Press. "We believe that the strengths of our community — ethnic diversity, a sense of community, close proximity to resources, a great school and churches —outweigh its challenges. One relationship at a time, one garden at a time, one house at a time, beauty and wholeness is spreading like a plant, perhaps from a mustard seed."

In 2008-09, Muncie Community Schools closed Garfield Elementary School that had served the neighborhood. People living in South Central told the Drapers they wanted another school. Inspire Academy, a K-7 school, opened two years ago.

The church's Christian Development Corp., with the help of others, including Westminster Presbyterian Church in northwest Muncie, recently completed the renovation of its fourth house in the neighborhood.

A photograph of the formerly boarded-up house, at 204 E. Seventh St., overlooking an abandoned couch on the sidewalk, appeared on the front page of the Dec. 9, 2013, edition of The Star Press, above the headline, "Muncie neighborhood beyond rehabilitation?"

The Drapers live two blocks from that house. So do Josh Arthur, pastor of Avondale United Methodist Church, and his wife, Lindsey, CEO of Greater Muncie Habitat for Humanity. So does Micah Maxwell, director of the nearby Boys & Girls Club of Muncie.

The Arthurs turned a vacant lot in the neighborhood into an apple orchard. The Community Foundation of Muncie & Delaware County helped fund construction of a community garden in the neighborhood. The renovation of a fifth house is already under way. Five more rehabs are planned.

Ten families have moved into the neighborhood in close proximity to Draper's church. Many of those settling in the neighborhood are alumni of Taylor University, including the Drapers and the Arthurs.

"Your article described the hopelessness of this and other neighborhoods in south Muncie," Keith Miller, a retired orthopedic surgeon whose four children are Taylor alumni, wrote in an email inviting The Star Press on a tour of the neighborhood. "I believe that currently there is exciting work being done in this neighborhood."

The consultant documented population loss, high vacancy rates, few homeowners, high crime and fire rates, low-quality buildings, widespread property tax delinquency, high unemployment, unacceptable noise levels and low household income in the neighborhood.

The consultant, Donovan Rypkema, an expert in downsizing or "right-sizing" of cities, wrote in a report that South Central "is not a prime neighborhood for long-term residential investment. Public resources should be used to gradually transition the neighborhood from residential to other productive uses."

Those might include urban agriculture, natural habitat, open space and alternative energy production. "The recommendation does not mean forced evacuation or widespread demolition," the report said. "It does mean that effective public investment in addressing vacant and abandoned properties should be directed toward shaping a less dense neighborhood."

Asked what he thought was the neighborhood's biggest challenge, Miller answered, "One way to restore it is home ownership." Draper added, "There is so much transience."

The house at 204 E. Seventh St. was renovated with the idea of selling it as an owner-occupied dwelling. The faith community and others provide home ownership preparedness, budget counseling, financial friendship and help cleaning up credit to prospective home buyers in the neighborhood.

"We bought it at a tax sale for $3,400," Miller said of the house. "Every window was broken out. It had been deserted for seven years. We boarded it up, padlocked the front door and screwed the back door shut."

After the renovation, the century-old home was appraised at only $35,000, which seems like a crime. It would be appraised higher in a better neighborhood. The renovation included new windows, a new kitchen, a new bathroom, new wiring, new heating/air conditioning, new plumbing, new drywall, new paint, and refinished hardwood floors.

Draper, who earned a doctorate from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, calls it "a new house in an old structure."

"The beauty of this neighborhood is all the front porches," Miller said. "They don't make porches any more. In the suburbs, everybody drives home, opens their garage door, drives in, closes the garage door and goes inside."

South Central's front porches and sidewalks encourage interaction between neighbors, Draper says.

In addition to renovating houses, establishing a new church, creating a new school and organizing a community garden, Urban Light backs a food pantry, the Wayside Mission's transitional housing for women and weekly recovery group meetings for people facing addictions.

"This is our neighborhood," Draper said. "We're a holistic, multifaceted ministry."

Contact Seth Slabaugh at (765) 213-5834.

Housing rehabilitation assistance for the project was provided by Ivy Tech Community College students; Richards Kitchen and Bath Center; Rosema Corp.; Tri-C Supply Corp; Schwer Electric Co.; Mr. Rooter; Norm's Paint; Crystal Glass; and Willco Wholesale Dist.