A Message from the CCLRC President on the Recent HUD Agreement

July 8, 2010

You may have read that the County Land Bank recently agreed to an arrangement with HUD whereby the County Land Bank would take many of HUD’s low value vacant and abandoned properties for $100.

An honest observer or skeptical blogger may ask why should HUD transfer these low value properties to the Land Bank instead of to auctions. The answer, of course, is not always as simple as it looks. These homes that the Land Bank will take will almost always have to be demolished. This is the reason why HUD is willing to "sell" for just $100. The point here is that if HUD sells these properties to a flipper or speculator, the taxpayer is still going to get stuck with the demolition bill at some point. Hence, neither HUD nor the taxpayer gain anything. Flippers and speculators on the other hand don’t buy to fix up. Their business model by design typically is to acquire a property for perhaps $500, only to quickly flip the property to some gullible buyer hoping to get rich by purchasing the home for $1,000. In this fashion the flipper makes a quick $500. Read more.

Land Bank Reaches Agreement with HUD for Property Acquisition

July 2, 2010

Months and months of hard work and negotiations paid off on Friday, July 2nd when the CCLRC and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development signed an agreement to have any HUD foreclosed properties in the County that are appraised for $20,000 or less be transferred to the CCLRC for $100. The agreement also allows for discounted pricing for the CCLRC to purchase other, higher valued, HUD homes. Gus Frangos, CCLRC President, stated, "This agreement provides the CCLRC with another major tool to help us revitalize our communities by keeping these blighting influences out of the hands of flippers who are out simply to make a quick buck." Click to read HUD's press release.

Land Bank Selected by U.S. EPA for $400,000 Brownfield Assessment Grant

April 22, 2010

The CCLRC has been selected to receive $400,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to assist with assessment of environmental contamination in industrial, residential, and commercial sites. Funding will be used to test for hazardous substances and petroleum-based contamination in properties being considered for rehabilitation or demolition by the CCLRC, and may be employed for community outreach activities. Assessment and outreach will result in the identification of sites that pose public health and safety risks and will facilitate CCLRC's redevelopment mission. "It positions us to get additional environmental grants to deal with economic development sites that need environmental clean-up. Ultimately, it's all about creating jobs," said CCLRC President Gus Frangos.

NSP 2 Grant Agreement Signed with HUD

March 23, 2010

The CCLRC and the NSP 2 Cleveland-Cuyahoga Consortium, consisting of the City of Cleveland Community Development Department, the Cuyahoga County Department of Development, and the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, finalized their negotiations with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for its $40,800,000 NSP 2 grant award. The Consortium Members have until April 11th to finalize and submit to HUD Consortium Agreements between the CCLRC, as Lead Member, and each of the other Consortium Members. It is anticipated that NSP 2 programming will begin in late April or early May.

Click to read the grant agreement.

Land Bank and Community Partners to Receive $40 Million Federal Grant

January 15, 2010

The CCLRC and its consortium partners Cuyahoga County, the City of Cleveland and the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority have been awarded $40.8 million in federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds by the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. The funds will be used in 20 targeted Cuyahoga County neighborhoods to rehabilitate homes for resale to low- to middle-income families, to restore foreclosed and abandoned housing, to demolish structures that cannot feasibly be rehabilitated, and to expand the Re-Imagining Cleveland pilot program. Fifteen of the neighborhoods are in the City of Cleveland; others are in the communities of East Cleveland, Lakewood, Shaker Heights, University Heights and Garfield Heights. Click to read the consortium press release, listen to the WCPN radio news item, or read the Plain Dealer article about the award.

South Euclid Land Bank Property to Become Community Garden

January 13, 2010

The CCLRC has completed the entire acquisition and disposition process for its first property, which will become a community garden. A parcel of vacant land in South Euclid which was donated to the land bank has been transferred to the city for that purpose. Processing the parcel through the CCLRC streamlined and expedited the process of clearing title. The CCLRC hopes to engage with its partner cities throughout the county to establish more of this kind of land reutilization by taking once unproductive land and converting it to productive community use.

Land Bank Reaches Agreement with Fannie Mae for Property Acquisition, Demolition Assistance

December 16, 2009

A new agreement with Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored secondary mortgage corporation, allows the CCLRC to acquire properties from its inventory of foreclosed homes. A story in The Plain Dealer describes the agreement, which calls for Fannie Mae to provide financial assistance for the demolition of structures where rehabilitation is not a viable option. This is the first such agreement between a buyer and an owner of a large number of foreclosed properties where the owner has agreed to help support the cost of demolition. Read more.

Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Legislation Called "National Model"

December 4, 2009

In recent testimony before the Ohio General Assembly, land banking expert Frank Alexander, Esq., Professor of Law at Emory University Law School, testified about the importance of expanded tools, including land banking, to deal with the fallout from the foreclosure crisis. He explained that new and innovative approaches were needed to address difficulties such as clearing title, vacancy and abandonment, all of which contribute to blight. He indicated that he views the legislation adopted by the Ohio 127th General Assembly (Senate Bill 353) as a "national model" that weaves government systems, foreclosure practice and policy into a powerful integrated tool to address the problem. Read more.

 
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