By B. Kay Richter
NEA Town Courier Assistant Editor
Last month, 14 parcels of land in Mississippi County were donated to a California nonprofit called Vision to Victory. The properties which were donated were part of a land program that offered tax-delinquent lands at public auction. If the properties did not sell during the public auction, then the properties could be a land donation from the state of Arkansas.
The Commissioner of State Land Office can offer these properties for them to be developed for public use or low-income housing.
Blytheville Mayor Melisa Logan is excited about the nonprofit's arrival and the possibility of securing low-income housing for the city.
"I would like to see more land developed here because we have plenty of it. We need more developers like Vision to Victory seeking opportunities to come and help us grow economically," Logan said during a one-on-one interview in her office.
Logan would like to see more developers take the initiative of developing projects in the city in what she describes as a housing desert.
"I'm not sure where it started, but the fact of the matter is that we are here. And how do we pull ourselves up and come out of the crisis," Logan said. "So I have reached out week after week to different development agencies."
According to Logan, there was an interest in building different housing projects in Blytheville, but those projects soon fizzled with the onset of the pandemic.
"We did have some interest a few years ago, right at the start of the pandemic. They proposed something like 144 units, apartments and townhomes. They purchased a tract of land out, you know, on the east end of the city," Logan said.
While the process may be slow in beginning again for new projects, Mayor Logan said she is actively seeking developers to come in and assist the city with housing projects.
"I'm only six months in, right, but I promise you, I am hot on the trail of housing like that's a top priority in this administration," Logan said. "I'm always optimistic about what can happen tomorrow if we work hard today. And so we're just busy working hard today so that we can ensure that they will have a better tomorrow as far as the housing market is concerned."
Vision to Victory's founder and CEO Shavon Shorter says she is excited about the project as well. Originally, Mayor Logan said the nonprofit would host a groundbreaking ceremony in June, but Shorter said there is no current timeline for the housing project.
"We want to work with individuals who are near homelessness or work with the Department of Human Services to help people get back on their feet," Shorter said during a phone interview on Thursday.
Shorter also said that she is coordinating with a local home manufacturer, Clayton Homes.
"They have surveyed the different properties and selected the best models for the parcels of land," Shorter said.
However, Shorter said that for now, certain fees would need to be waived to get the property situated.
"The land was granted to the nonprofit, but the paperwork for the property has to be situated," she said.
However, Shorter remains excited about the possibility of the project.
The addresses of the parcels of land intended for the project are published below. As of press time, only one Victory to Vision sign was posted on the properties intended for the project with a QR code to the nonprofit's website: https://www.v2v4u.org/about-us.
1500 Stuart Street
1029 S 15th Street
1710 W Ash Street
809 S 15th Street
610 S Lake
123 Dougan
119 & 121 E Rose
2208 Carolyn
419 E Vine
1718 Sales
512 NW Parkway
1129 Chickasawba
612 Rosamond
1045 McHaney