Mahoning Removes 308 Houses Through Program
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Mahoning County Land Bank and its 12 community partners took down 308 houses though the Moving Ohio Forward demolition grant program by the program’s deadline today, Mahoning County Treasurer Dan Yemma, land bank chairman, reported.
The number of homes demolished using the grant funds, exceeded the land bank’s initial estimate of 275, he added.
“Demolition, when necessary, is costly to local governments,” and in Mahoning County the average cost is $8,232, slightly higher than the statewide average of $8,100, Yemma remarked. “This grant eased some of that burden.”
The Moving Ohio Forward program was launched in May 2012 by the office of Attorney General Mike DeWine using $75 million from the state’s share of a mortgage servicing settlement brokered by the U.S. Justice Department, The Mahoning County Land Bank’s application was approved to receive up to $1.61 million in reimbursements toward the costs of demolishing vacant, abandoned and blighted homes.
The program financed demolition activities in the cities of Campbell, Struthers and Youngstown; Beloit, Lowellville and Sebring Villages; and Austintown, Boardman, Coitsville, Milton, Smith and Springfield townships.
Despite the 308 blighted properties removed, such properties remain a substantial problem for the county, with thousands more abandoned, damaged, unsafe and unmarketable homes still standing. “Based on our average cost during the Moving Ohio Forward program, it’s safe to say that Mahoning County has a $20 million problem on its hands,” Yemma said.
The land bank’s next residential demolition project is underway, using a $4.26 million grant from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency in February. The reimbursement grant will finance acquisition, demolition and greening activities in portions of Austintown, Boardman, Campbell, Struthers and Youngstown. Demolition activities must be completed by mid-2016.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
CLICK HERE to subscribe to our twice-monthly print edition and to our free daily email headlines.