The City of Valdosta will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, Oct. 30, at 11 a.m., at 920 West Street, located in one of the city’s Designated Revitalization Areas. The reconstructed home was built using Community Development Block Grant and is one of the resources the city is utilizing to eliminating substandard housing within the city limits by the year 2020.
 
Valdosta Mayor John Gayle, District 3 City Councilman Sonny Vickers, Neighborhood Development Division staff and contractors will be present at the event to help homeowner Luella Tillman and her family members cut the ribbon on her new home.
 
To be eligible for the reconstruction home program, a homeowner must meet income eligibility and must reside in the home, and the home must be deemed unsafe for occupancy. The city’s Rehab Construction Coordinator then conducts a feasibility study to determine if the cost of home repairs exceeds 50 percent of the home’s value. If so, the home is considered for reconstruction utilizing the various resources of applicable grant funding.