Baldwin County receives $500,000 CHIP grant

Billy Hobbs, The Union-Recorder, Milledgeville, Ga.
·2 min read
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May 12—Baldwin County officials were hoping for some more great news and they received it Thursday.

It came in the form of a $500,000 Community Home Investment Program grant from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

The county is the only one in the state to receive an owner-occupied CHIP grant.

The funds will be used to rehabilitate six homes on the south side of the county.

Construction is expected to start on the first dwelling next winter.

At Tuesday night's commission meeting, Baldwin County Manager Carlos Tobar announced that he was expecting to receive word any day about whether the county had been awarded the new CHIP grant.

After Tobar received confirmation, he made the announcement.

"The county was eligible to apply for this 2024 grant thanks to incredible work that ServPro did to complete the first three houses from our 2022 CHIP grant," Tobar said. "Additionally, the county wants to recognize and thank those who serve on the Baldwin County Georgia Initiative for Community Housing Team. These community members have faithfully attended monthly meetings since the county was accepted into this program in 2022, and we are grateful for their dedication. Finally, we want to thank state Sen. Rick Williams and state Reps. Mack Jackson and Ken Vance for their letters of support."

This is not the first time that Baldwin County has been a CHIP grant recipient.

In 2023, Habitat for Humanity Milledgeville-Baldwin County received a $600,000 CHIP grant to build four new homes.

In 2022, the county received a CHIP grant for $400,000.

Construction on the first Habitat for Humanity home will begin next month.

The county was one of only two counties to receive a CHIP grant in 2022.

Tobar said the grants have helped revitalize the south side of the county.

"In addition to the county's investment in owner-occupied homes, private investors have spent millions of dollars to revitalize homes and neighborhoods in this area as well," Tobar said. "More public investment is coming, which should lead to further investment and revitalization for Baldwin County."