Blight Elimination Program

The Blight Elimination Program (BEP) is administered by the Mississippi Home Corporation and funded by the Department of Treasury. The goal of the program is to combat zero and negative residential property values throughout the state. This condition results when taxes, liens, judgements and/or the cost of clearing title exceed the market value of a property. In many cases this is a result of abandoned properties or properties in which clear title cannot be established. As a result, vacant homes deteriorate and as their property value declines, property owner's are burdened with fees and fines, and adjacent property values are negatively affected. 

When it became clear that small towns were not applying for BEP funding, Hope Enterprise Corporation sought Delta DB's input on what was disincentivizing the program. Delta DB discovered that one of the major hurdles of the complex grant was that a "Blight Partner" was required to contract with each municipality to apply for BEP. This Partner needed experience in community development, grant management and demolition, they needed to be willing to take ownership of dozens of properties, and yet there were virtually no funds available to pay the Blight Partner to manage the program. As a result, HOPE raised funds to pay for Delta DB to manage BEP programs in HOPE’s Small Town Partnership communities including Shaw, Drew, Yazoo City, and Moorhead. Other municipalities hired Delta DB directly to manage the program. These include Greenwood, Lexington and Leland. In Jackson, Revitalize Mississippi hired Delta DB to work with the City of Jackson and Rosemont Community Land Trust.

Before the program deadline in December of 2020, funding for over 90 properties in our 8 partner communities was secured. Delta DB worked diligently to ensure that no one would be displaced from a home and that rehabilitation was not a viable option for each of these homes. 

BEP results in a physical, legal and financial fresh start for the properties and is just the first step in what we hope will be a strategic reinvestment effort in each of the 8 communities.

Options for the futures of these properties include:

• Transferal to neighboring property owners
• Donation to a nonprofit such as Habitat for Humanity or the Fuller Center for Housing
• Donation to the municipality for future community benefit
• Redevelopment as new affordable housing

BEP does not provide funding beyond demolition, but rather serves as the first step in moving the properties toward redevelopment. Delta DB is currently working with individuals and communities to plan equitable next steps, and to ensure that the program builds equity, particularly racial equity, in the region.