Non-profit housing developer Baron Sandlin wants to restore quality living to an Anniston neighborhood by renovating the abandoned structures there.

Sandlin’s Northeast Alabama Community Development Corp., Inc. has finished a rehab project on the first home and is already making plans for the next house. The renovated home will be revealed Saturday, March 13 at 10 a.m. at 2001 Moore Ave. in Anniston.  Anniston Mayor Gene Robinson, Sandlin, financial supporters and others are expected to speak during the press conference and ribbon cutting.

Sandlin said it took three months to turn what was once a boarded-up duplex with a rotten roof, bad floors and a fallen-in utility room, into a clean, three-bedroom home ready for a family to rent. “The place was an eyesore at first. The property owner had left it there,’’ he said. “Now, it’s a nice house.”

Sandlin’s group saw that several homes along Anniston’s Moore Avenue had been abandoned. Worried about what effect the scenery was making on the families in the community, Sandlin investigated to see what could be done to change things.

He identified 20 abandoned properties and started asking the absent owners to donate the properties or work with him in negotiating a reasonable sale price. He prefers to make over homes that are in clusters in a neighborhood because of the larger impact that can be made on improving the community. Currently, the plan is fix up the homes and rent them to deserving families. If the real estate market changes, they may sell the houses in the future, he said.

He bought the first home for $6,000; and invested $70,000 to rehab it. Funding was made possible through the Housing Fund of Central Alabama, a statewide non-profit affordable housing support agency based in Birmingham. Another financial supporter was the Community Foundation of Northeast Alabama, which focuses on seven northeast Alabama counties, including Calhoun, Clay, Randolph and Etowah counties.

Sandlin said his organization does not just serve Calhoun County, but also Clay County. “We are very excited about doing what we are doing; having the compassion to do rehab, countywide,’’ he said.

For more info:
Contact: Baron Sandlin
256-235-8018; or 205-541-9839 after 5 p.m.