In the News
Historic Pythian Castle to be Redeveloped
Though the Land Bank’s tools are most commonly used to address the problems of blight in residential neighborhoods, there are times when we can also play an important role in economic development. Today’s exciting news is proof. As this story in The Blade explains, the Land Bank has sold the…
Lucas County Attends RVP Conference in Baltimore
The Land Bank staff had a great time in Baltimore at the Reclaiming Vacant Properties conference hosted by the Center for Community Progress. We shared some of our experiences, learned new ideas, and networked with other activists who are trying to make a difference in their communities. Having attended the…
Land Bank Sets Goal of “1,500 in 1,500”
t’s a goal for the record books, but the Lucas County Land Bank is ready to set its sights high. At a news conference today, we announced a plan to renovate or demolish 1,500 properties over the next 1,500 days. In other words, every day for the next four years,…
Land Bank Receives $14 M in Fight Against Blight
The Lucas County Land Bank received a $13.8 million grant earlier this week from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency to continue its fight against blight in Northwest Ohio. With this funding, we have now been awarded over $25 million since 2014 to help address the problems associated with vacant and abandoned homes. …
Land Bank Kicks Off 2016 Housing Fund
oday the Land Bank announced the guidelines for its 2016 Housing Fund Grants. This year we will award $400,000 to community groups who will implement programs to improve the quality of housing in our community. The Land Bank has given out $800,000 over three previous funding cycles, and past recipients…
All Existing Blight Could be Demolished by 2020
As this story in The Blade outlines, the Lucas County Land Bank is in line to receive a substantial amount of federal aid from the U.S. Treasury Department as part of the Hardest Hit Fund. We should know the precise amount of the award within the next month or so, but if…
Land Bank to Launch Rehab Pilot Project
Since it was founded in August 2010, the Land Bank has helped rehab almost 300 properties that would have been candidates for demolition otherwise. In virtually all of these cases, the Land Bank acquired the properties and transferred them into the hands of end users, who then did the work…
Economy Shows Slight Improvement in 3rd Quarter
I just released my Third Quarter 2015 report on the health of our economy, and in general, the news was positive. For instance, unemployment rates fell dramatically in both Lucas County (from 5.7% to 4.5%) and Toledo (from 6.3% to 4.9%) from September 2014 to September 2015. New car sales remained robust and appear…
OHFA Awards Land Bank Additional $2.3 million to Fight Blight
We received some great news this week when the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) announced that it was awarding the Lucas County Land Bank an additional $2.3 million as part of its Neighborhood Initiative Program (NIP). Since 2014, the Land Bank has received $11.5 million from NIP, which is the highest award per…
How to Request Demolition and Acquire Adjacent Land
The Land Bank is frequently asked by interested citizens how, specifically, a property ends up on the demolition list. There are a number of factors, but one of the most important ones is whether the adjacent property owner is willing to acquire the vacant land that results from the demolition. Christine…
Aurora Project Brings Needed Housing to Homeless Women & Children
For 30 years, the Aurora Project has served our community by working to find transitional housing for homeless women and children, especially those dealing with the problems associated with chemical addiction. Today, the Lucas County Land Bank was able to celebrate an event that will help the Aurora Project further its misison. The…
Toledo housing survey offers a basis for smart use of tax dollars
The Toledo Blade invited me to write an OpEd for the Sunday paper about the Land Bank’s recently completed Toledo Survey. I appreciate the forum The Blade’s editors gave me to discuss the role the survey can play in helping decision makers spend scarce tax dollars more efficiently and wisely. You can…