CENTRALIA — The City of Centralia will be receiving $665,000 from the federal government to boost its ongoing effort to remove blighted, vacant and unsafe homes through the Illinois Housing Development Authority’s Blight Reduction Program application that was submitted in September 2015.

According to Gayla Harting, Director of Community Development and Planning & Zoning Administrator the City of will work with BCMW as their Non for Profit Partner with these funds.

Harting says the program complements Centralia’s already aggressive approach to handling problem properties.

The Blight Reduction Program (BRP) is used to decrease preventable foreclosure and stabilize neighborhoods by supporting Illinois units of government and their not-for-profit partners as they target blighted, vacant residential properties in specific communities for demolition, greening and eventual reuse or redevelopment. BRP will work to reduce blight for the end purpose of land reuse, repurposing and/or redevelopment that benefits the surrounding residential community and helps reduce foreclosure.