Affordable Housing Programs
Homeowner Resources
Life Lines III is a development project on the vacant and blighted properties adjacent to St. Francis Hospital . This development will house the Life Lines program, which serves youth aging out of foster care. Cornerstone West CDC will serve as the developer and partner with the Wilmington Neighborhood Conservancy Land Bank to acquire two vacant properties at 1708 W 8th Street and 700 Douglas Street. This project will help solidify prior investments of $70,000,000 in the adjacent blocks. This project will allow Life Lines to expand their permanent supportive housing services to 10 additional low-income homeless youth and former foster care youth. And, through this project, Life Lines will be able to add its first fully accessible unit.
Life Lines III
Revitalized 72 blighted rental units which had been an epicenter for crime into a model affordable rental facility.
Built 11 units of special needs housing for youth who had aged out of foster care on a previously vacant lot.
Provided technical support for the development of a 400+ unit rental complex.
Assisted 94 senior citizen homeowners complete renovations and facade improvements.
Increased property values in targeted blocks by 50%.
Renovated over 220 affordable units sold to first time homeowners.
Assisting in the founding of the Wilmington Land Bank
Advocated to improve vacant housing policy in Wilmington
Through its home repair assistance program, Cornerstone supports existing low income and elderly homeowners improve their quality of life by providing standard household repairs and façade improvements. The majority of homes in our community are row homes in excess of 100 years old. A roof or major structural failure in one house can impact multiple row homes on a block which share common walls, contributing to neighborhood vacancies and blight. To date, the program not only helps individuals stay in their homes—by improving living conditions—but has also contributed to neighborhood stability by promoting reinvestment from other owners on the same block.
Aging & Staging Homeowner Repair Program
Affordable Housing Development Projects
Over the past decade, the organization has transformed existing homes to serve special needs populations, including youth aging out of foster care, and individuals with mental and/or physical disabilities. These homes are designed to provide housing that blends in with current housing stock, and helps these individuals fully integrate into the community. Cornerstone also leads clustered projects in which an average of ten homes “clustered” together are renovated or rebuilt. This approach has allowed homebuyers in the West Side to purchase with other new owners, promoting a more integrated community and support network. Finally, each home that Cornerstone renovates or builds is developed with a key architectural feature—front porches with metal roofing, porch swings, unique address signage, and brick front facades. These details are added to build a sense of continuity across homes on the block and encourage individuals to spend time sitting on their porches and engaging with other residents.
