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.

Frangos Testifies Before Ohio House in Favor of H.B. 313

December 4, 2009

In November and December, 2009, the President of the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation (CCLRC) was called to testify in the Ohio General Assembly concerning House Bill 313, which seeks to expand the ability of other counties to create and operate land banks. CCLRC President Gus Frangos testified in favor of House Bill 313 and explained many of the intricacies and details of the original legislation authorizing land banks. Read more.

 
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