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Developer's love for Dayton neighborhood leads to rehabarama
Investors are planning to put about $2 million into Historic South Park homes.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
DAYTON — — Developer Theresa Gasper never forgot the old world charm of Historic South Park where she grew up and she's been searching for ways to uplift parts of the neighborhood that have declined over the years.
She and developer Michael DiFlora, with assistance from neighborhood folks and the city of Dayton, now have a plan.
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They'll shine a spotlight on six to 10 homes in the city's largest historic district by backing a Rehabarama Home Show there Oct. 5 through 14.
"I'm at a point in my life where I want to give back, and South Park is my target," said Gasper, owner of Full Circle Development, LLC. "I love this neighborhood. It's not so much the houses or the home tours. It's the people."
Gasper and DiFlora, owner of The Home Group, LLC, have invested about $1 million to identify and buy homes for the show, then find contractors to rehab them.
They expect to invest about $2 million overall for homes on Wyoming, Bonner, Johnson, Oak and Bradford streets.
Most were built in the mid 1880s and range from cottages to larger structures.
The Dayton City Commission on Wednesday agreed to pay the Home Builders Association of Dayton and the Miami Valley $100,000 to develop, stage and manage the rehabarama.
They also will provide an advertising campaign to draw in potential buyers.
"Our investment is much less than is typically in this type of project," City Manager Rashad Young said.
"Typically, our investment is about $1 million. We're excited about the partnership."
Since the 2001 Rehabarama in Historic South Park, the neighborhood has become a showcase of historic homes, and property values have increased nearly 30 percent.
Five houses were rehabbed and three new in-fill houses were built for the event.
"The 2001 Rehabarama built confidence and a willingness from people to come into the city and invest," Karin Manovich, president of Historic South Park, Inc., said. "We anticipate a similar impact from this one."
Manovich and Gasper said many details of the show still must be worked out.
Gasper said she plans to continue redevelopment in South Park after the rehabarama.
"I think we'll keep going until we're sure we have momentum," Gasper said.
