A west Bloomington neighborhood will see a wave of housing revitalization, thanks to a $1.5 million grant to a new community group whose partners include Illinois Wesleyan’s Action Research Center (ARC) and the city of Bloomington.

ARC Coordinator Deborah Halperin said IWU involvement included Jenny Long ’13, who helped with research as part of the University’s grant writingseminar and interned with the West Bloomington Revitalization Project (WBRP) last spring; Matt Lalonde ’14, whose Tool Library at the WBRP will gain support from grant funds; Professor of Political Science Greg Shaw, who is the housing chair of the WBRP; and University Librarian Karen Schmidt, city council member and WBRP board member.