Approximately 16 million properties in the United States are considered vacant and abandoned, often indicative of blighted or distressed real estate. This figure represents about 11% of the total housing inventory, highlighting a substantial challenge for community revitalization. Given that 83% of the U.S. population resides in urban areas, it is estimated that around 13.3 million of these properties are located in urban or more populated regions, presenting significant opportunities for revitalizing downtowns to foster prosperous communities.

Trends for almost two decades now is for most households to prefer to live where they can live, work, shop, recreate and find most of the services they require within a convenient distance – approximately 15 minutes away. Ideally, we are finding that many residents prefer the car trip to be less, and that they can access these conveniences by foot or bike in 15 minutes or less. Neighborhoods that immediately provide these everyday needed and desired amenities, we call Complete Neighborhoods.

In 2017, the City of Elkhart adopted the River District Revitalization Master Plan. Developed with broad community stakeholder involvement, the plan was built on the previous decades of investment in Elkhart’s struggling Main Street. This effort shared a vision for the River District to be an expansion of downtown, as a walkable, mixed-use neighborhood redeveloped on 100-plus acres of parking lots, out lot retailers, former industrial sites, and auto-repair shops. Over 65% of the $300-plus million mixed-use development has been realized within five-years. The area continues to attract significant new private investment.