Front Door Dreams
By Kristen Lund • Photos by Jordan Barclay

Early one November morning, Kimberly Sallee-Robinson relaxes on the front porch of her Jefferson Avenue home in Downtown Evansville. The air is chilly, despite the bright sunlight, but she doesn’t seem to mind. Sitting on the porch of her very own home — a two-story Federal-style house with cheerful yellow siding — is a dream come true, she says, after years of living with her two daughters in a rented townhouse.

A few blocks away, at the corner of Madison Avenue and Culver Street, contractor Bill Badger Sr. and his crew finish the plumbing for a spacious new house. By January, the bustling construction site will be a 1,900-square-foot, energy-efficient home. And like Sallee-Robinson’s, it will be a glimmer of hope in a long-neglected neighborhood. From the safe and new to the derelict and dangerous, welcome to Evansville’s Front Door Pride area.

When Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel ran for his first term in office, one of his top campaign promises was to bolster Downtown Evansville by investing in the near-Downtown neighborhoods that had fallen into disrepair. The streets that once were at the heart of the city, a gateway to the Downtown business district, grew dingy and crime-ridden as home ownership rates declined, rental rates increased, and new investment in the area — with the exception of Habitat for Humanity and other local nonprofits — stymied.

In 2004, that promise turned into Front Door Pride, a partnership among the City of Evansville, the nonprofit HOPE of Evansville, and homebuilders such as Badger. Through new home construction and renovations, the program aims to revitalize a large urban area bounded by the Lloyd Expressway to the north, U.S. 41 to the east, Veterans Memorial Parkway to the south, and Cherry Street to the west. The focus area, however, centers on the neighborhoods surrounding Haynie’s Corner because of the high number of blighted homes and the potential for revitalization.

To date, six homes have been built, four of them by Badger. In October, Weinzapfel announced the construction of eight new homes, the largest number of Front Door Pride homes since the program began. “This is the kind of progress that we want to see with the Front Door Pride program,” Weinzapfel said during the announcement. “The fact that we are able to move more quickly to remove eyesores and build new, affordable homes is a positive step for this neighborhood and our revitalization effort as a whole.”

Badger’s career is well known for his upscale, expensive homes in Warrick County. What drew the builder of 28 years to the Front Door Pride area, he says, is a passion for the historic importance and the neighborhood itself. Ten years ago, he lived on Washington Avenue near the 2010 Evansville Living Downtown Idea Home, a renovation project at 620 Washington Ave. “I’m pretty familiar with this neighborhood,” he says. “That’s why I’m really pushing Front Door Pride. I really believe in it.”

Now, after building million-plus dollar homes, Badger estimates he spends 85 percent of his time in the urban neighborhood, building one-and-a-half to two-story homes priced under $200,000. He traces his involvement in Front Door Pride back to the program’s early days, when the late Gregg LaMar was executive director of the city’s department of metropolitan development. LaMar asked Badger to attend a seminar for contractors interested in building Front Door Pride homes. Badger then submitted home designs to city officials, who approved them and welcomed Badger on board.

Badger notes that LaMar’s successor, Tom Barnett, places emphasis on building homes that blend with the neighborhood. So all of the new homes have rear-loading garages, front porches, and siding that mimics painted wood. They all have modern touches: security systems, professional landscaping, a comprehensive 10-year warranty, and Energy STAR appliances. Energy efficiency is important to Front Door Pride builders, says Badger, and the homes have energy-saving elements such as radiant barriers, fluorescent light bulbs, and waterproof foundations. “The bottom line is,” Badger says, “you’re going to have a healthier home.”

That adds up to big savings, too, says Sallee-Robinson. In May, the single mother of two daughters (Ashley, 20, and Tyler-Renee, 13) moved into a four-bedroom, Badger-built Front Door Pride home on Jefferson Avenue. Spotting the home was love at first sight, says Sallee-Robinson: “Bill Badger did an outstanding job. Just riding by, I could tell it was a quality-built home. I would be a fool to let it go.”

Sallee-Robinson’s aunt, Constance Robinson — a City Council member whose ward includes the Front Door Pride focus area — provided her more information about the program and the possible incentives for which Sallee-Robinson could qualify. A variety of state and federal grants subsidize the cost of homes for qualified buyers below a certain income level (below 125 percent of area median income).

To purchase a Front Door Pride home, Sallee-Robinson (and other buyers) must pass a credit check, secure a mortgage, and make a down payment. They also are required to complete a pre-purchase home ownership class led by HOPE of Evansville, where they learn about taxes, insurance, and maintenance. “They make it so easy,” says Sallee-Robinson. “I’m really, really grateful. Especially when you never have owned a home, it’s a big asset.”

Her utility bills are half of what they were in her rented townhouse off Lincoln Avenue, she estimates. But the biggest reward may well be a sense of being rooted in a community. Ten years ago, Sallee-Robinson lived in what now is the Front Door Pride focus area and called the experience “very negative.” But she credits the program’s vision of a revitalized neighborhood for helping turn the area around and new homes such as Badger’s for inspiring a new kind of pride. “I just wanted to be part of a community that was new,” she says. “People are caring more about their properties and their neighborhood. On Jefferson, we’re like a family.”