The remaining 21 lots and homes will be made available to anyone of any income level.

NeighborWorks will host a public information meeting at its office, 3100 23rd St., at 6 p.m. Jan. 22 for those interested in buying and building at Bradshaw Place. The informational meeting is a precursor to the sale of the lots, on a first come-first serve basis, which will begin 8 a.m. Feb. 18 at the local NeighborWorks office.

The current sliding scale income guidelines to qualify for the 22 low- and moderate-income households is currently $33,100 for a single person, $37,850 for two persons and $47,300 for four persons.

Income eligible individuals and families also may qualify for up to $25,000 in down payment assistance, with a $1,000 match, for their new homes at Bradshaw Place in the form of a zero percent interest loan due upon resale.

Roger Nadrchal, NeighborWorks executive director, said he and staff are looking forward to the further development of Bradshaw Place and assisting the community meet its affordable housing needs.

“We are excited to be part of the community and develop 43 new homes in partnership with the City of Columbus, the business community (and) the NENEDD,” Nadrchal said.

The completion of Bradshaw Place would add on to NeighborWorks current success of aiding families in finding affordable housing through its purchase/rehab/resale program.

During 2007, following its opening in July 2007, NeighborWorks developed and sold four homes -- three in Columbus and one in Platte Center -- to qualified home buyers following $54,500 in improvements made to those homes. The combined resale value of homes sold in 2007 was $330,850 with an average resale value of $84,625.

In 2008, NeighborWorks made nearly $150,400 in improvements to 14 homes sold to qualified home buyers. Of the 14 houses, 11 were in Columbus and one in each community of Platte Center, Schuyler and Albion.

The total resale value of the homes was $1.3 million with an average resale value of $92,900.

Nadrchal said in 2008 NeighborWorks sold 32 homes throughout its nine-county service area and with 14 of those sales being made in the Columbus area it shows the continued demand for affordable housing in and around Columbus.

And the work continues this year as, in addition to Bradshaw Place, three homes are currently being rehabilitated through the purchase/rehab/resale program. One new home in Schuyler is available for sale and another new home is under construction.

Nadrchal said, “not only do we fix up the houses, but we provide up to $15,000 in down payments assistance” for income eligible individuals and families.

In addition to home rehabilitation and home sales, NeighborWorks and its partners provided nearly $50,000 in down payment assistance for home buyers in 2007 and more than $217,000 in 2008.

Nadrchal said the NeighborWorks’ main purpose is to help increase the number affordable houses for the work force in Columbus as well as develop educated and responsible homeowners through its seminars. The Columbus office has helped educate nearly 175 area residents on the home-buying process and responsibilities of being a homeowner. The program is offered monthly at the cost of $25, and sessions alternate between the Columbus and Norfolk offices, with an additional six sessions conducted in Spanish.

Nadrchal said working with the Columbus area community has been great and hopes more people utilize their services in the future.

“We are definitely pleased with the results so far. The first year is typically the toughest, but 18 homes is a good number,” he said. “We would like to grow and expand as we continue to become more visible and people continue to learn about our services.”