What's Happening at the Land Bank
Making a Difference - Property by Property (Our Blog)Our blog - Making a Difference - Property by Property features individual success stories that have come about as a result of the Cuyahoga Land Bank's involvement. Some stories are drawn from our newsletters while others feature small successes that are making a positive difference for individual neighbors, homeowners, rehabbers, non-profit organizations and communities within Cuyahoga County. Check back often as our work progresses! If you would like to share a land bank success story of your own on our blog page, please contact Stephen Love at slove@cuyahogalandbank.org. |
Cuyahoga Land Bank Goes to SchoolFebruary 20, 2012Sister Anne Maline, Director of Metro Catholic School in Cleveland, used to gaze at the property adjacent to the school and dream of a garden to provide fitness opportunities and green space for her students. Instead, she had to look at an abandoned, deteriorated eyesore of a house.
That is, until the Cuyahoga Land Bank stepped in and helped Sr. Anne make her dream space a reality. First, the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization appraised the property and determined that the house could not be salvaged for any future use. The property was then acquired by the Cuyahoga Land Bank, who turned it over to Metro Catholic School, and the house was demolished to make way for healthier pursuits. "We already have a number of green efforts," Sr. Anne says, citing the Metro Catholic School's garden club and plantings at other sites. "This new garden and green space will be an extension of those aims. Our teachers have been trained for this-they've attended American Horticultural Society symposiums on youth gardens-and students will grow both produce and decorative plants." The progress doesn't stop with one garden, though. The new property is spacious-about 3,400 square feet-and Sr. Anne is having an outdoor stage built there, where students will present shows surrounded by their own plantings. "We're aware that other properties near us are in the process of moving toward acquisition by the Cuyahoga Land Bank," she says. "We're landlocked right now, so we're keeping an eye on those developments. We're hoping to acquire more properties."
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Enterprise Community Partners Awards $50,000 to the Cuyahoga Land BankFebruary 15, 2012Since its earliest days, the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation, commonly known as the Cuyahoga Land Bank, has targeted properties whose demolition or rehabilitation would make the biggest impact on the neighborhoods in which the properties are located.
That strategy was recognized this summer by the Enterprise Community Partners (ECP, formerly known as the National Enterprise Foundation), who awarded $50,000 to the Cuyahoga Land Bank, helping to support its research and execution efforts toward addressing tax-foreclosed vacant and abandoned properties. The award was bestowed at a conference held at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, bringing national recognition to the Cuyahoga Land Bank. Officials specifically cited the Cuyahoga Land Bank's work in partnering with and assisting cities throughout Cuyahoga County as well as the County Prosecutor and neighborhood organizations. "The Cuyahoga Land Bank puts a lot of effort into strategic thinking and it pays off," says Mark McDermott of Enterprise Community Partners. "We thought we would like to support the productive relationships between the Cuyahoga Land Bank and other community development organizations." McDermott adds that ECP was impressed by the Cuyahoga Land Bank's tactic of targeting specific neighborhoods and properties that would make the most impact, "not just tearing a house down here and doing a rehab there. They work in a way that will stabilize the targeted community. And we think it's paying off."
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Ohio Attorney General looks to Land Bank as potential partner to help make use of $355 million to come to Ohio as a result of a 48 state settlement with 5 largest mortgage lendersFebruary 10, 2012
The $26 billion settlement agreement took place between 49 State Attorney Generals and Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial. $335 million of that settlement is expected to go to Ohio. DeWine said settlement dollars will be directed to four areas:
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Partner Feature: Cleveland Housing Network: 40 Cleveland Housing Network Properties to get New Life, Thanks to the Cuyahoga Land Bank & the City of ClevelandFebruary 9, 201230 vacant homes and 10 vacant lots in Cleveland are getting a second chance at new life, thanks to critical assistance from the City of Cleveland and the Cuyahoga Land Bank.
In March 2011, a project, being developed by the Cleveland Housing Network (CHN), lost a highly competitive bid for an allocation of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits needed to move forward with the affordable housing project. To keep the critical project alive, the Cuyahoga Land Bank stepped in to purchase and hold 20 of the 40 properties while other financing could be assembled. Flexibility like that just doesn't happen in private-market deals, according to Kevin Brown, CHN's Director of Real Estate Development. The Cuyahoga Land Bank also demolished three of the blighted properties to make room for new, green homes. Financing was secured through the City of Cleveland's Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP-2), allowing the project to leverage tax exempt bonds with 4% tax credits.
"We simply could not have pulled off this project without the Cuyahoga Land Bank or the City of Cleveland," says Kevin Brown. The project is part of the Cleveland Housing Network's targeted neighborhood stabilization efforts to redevelop vacant homes in the city's Strategic Investment Initiative areas. CHN has worked with the Cuyahoga Land Bank on several other projects. The partnership has allowed CHN to significantly reduce the intensive labor, time and costs associated with locating and acquiring vacant homes. "The Cuyahoga Land Bank ramped up very quickly," says Brown, "and we've been working with them since Day 1 as an instrumental partner in our neighborhood stabilization efforts." Previously CHN might have spent months to research, assess and negotiate the sale of a handful of vacant properties before rehab could even begin, paying as much as $15,000 per property-that is, if the owner could be located. Today, the Cuyahoga Land Bank conducts the due diligence, holds the property as necessary and sells for a nominal amount. "These types of projects typically take 12 months to put together," states Brown. "But because of the Cuyahoga Land Bank and the city, we were able to put it together in just 5 1/2 months." This is significant in a city where thousands of vacant homes are in need of rehabilitation or demolition. The 40 homes in this project are in the neighborhoods of Tremont, Detroit Shoreway, Glenville, Buckeye/Shaker, Slavic Village, Lee-Harvard, Northeast Shores and Mt. Pleasant. Homes will be offered for lease purchase to low-income families at affordable rents.
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Cuyahoga Land Bank's Story Presented to Policymakers at the National Brownfields ConferenceFebruary 6, 2012Last April, the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation, commonly known as the Cuyahoga Land Bank, was invited to speak before approximately 6,500 national and local policymakers, developers, engineers and other community leaders at the 2011 National Brownfields Conference in Philadelphia.
Representatives from the National Conference of Cities, state and local governments and community development organizations have long been concerned about brownfields and the best practices in addressing them. The Cuyahoga Land Bank is recognized as a leader in landbanking and was asked to speak about environmental policy and its effects on the goals and activities of land banks nationwide. Gus Frangos, President of the Cuyahoga Land Bank, spoke on a panel dedicated to landbanking and the ability of such organizations to protect the environment against contamination. Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), honored the Cuyahoga Land Bank by telling the audience the group is "on the cutting edge of compliance with environmental laws." Cuyahoga Land Bank officials pointed out, however, that EPA regulations require unnecessary asbestos surveys, adding nearly $800,000 to the Cuyahoga Land Bank's annual budget. Frangos added that he is advocating for changes to EPA regulations and will ask partner cities and the congressional delegation for relief. Cuyahoga Land Bank staff works with the Ohio EPA's asbestos management team, along with officials from the Ohio Department of Health and the City of Cleveland, to determine what needs to be done to expedite environmental compliance, why such steps should be taken and how to better manage the process and control costs.
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St. Coleman's Garden of EdenJanuary 25, 2012Going to church should be an uplifting experience. Worshiping next door to a condemned property, however, tends to dampen the spirit.
That was what the congregation faced when they attended services at St. Colman's in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. The house standing adjacent to the church was an eyesore that needed to be demolished. That's when the Cuyahoga Land Bank stepped in: it acquired the property, demolished the house and sold it back to St. Colman's for $1 after church officials agreed to clean and maintain the property. Initially, St. Colman's planned to expand its parking lot, but now it is taking that plan a step further. "We're going to demolish a second house, next to that first demolished property and plant a rain garden there," says Fr. Bob Begin, St. Colman's pastor. A rain garden is a garden of plants that favor plenty of water, designed so that rain water flows to gravel or sand surrounding the plants and will need less watering and maintenance. Instead of a fence at the far end of the new garden and parking lot, landscapers will install a "planter wall" made of dwarf fruit trees. "The wall itself will be a veterans' memorial wall, commemorating soldiers who sacrificed their lives in World War II and the Vietnam War," Fr. Begin says. The pastor's plans might be ambitious, but he's looking beyond the church property at the future of Detroit Shoreway. "This will be a destination," he says. "People will be able to come here and relax, walk in the garden, and have a place to park. The idea is to make this neighborhood a place you want to come to, not just drive through."
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Cuyahoga Land Bank, Cities Fight Nuisances TogetherJanuary 24, 2012Often a demolition is more than a demolition-it can be the catalyst for saving a neighborhood.
That was the thinking behind the Nuisance Abatement Agreement between the City of University Heights and the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation, commonly known as the Cuyahoga Land Bank, signed in the winter of 2010. The mutual agency agreement authorizes the Cuyahoga Land Bank to assist in planning nuisance abatement actions related to abandoned and foreclosed properties and already it has paid off enormously. "We have been happy with the agreement and have seen its benefit to the City, both through the demolition of an unattractive abandoned house that was in foreclosure and the rehabilitation of two neglected properties," says University Heights Mayor Susan Infeld. " In all three cases the Cuyahoga Land Bank was able to use its resources to acquire the properties." Word of the partnership's success spread to other cities in Cuyahoga County and the Cuyahoga Land Bank now has executed similar agreements with Cleveland, East Cleveland, Lakewood and Oakwood Village. The agreements became possible because statutory changes allowing for the creation of land banks now allow those same organizations to serve as agents for cities in nuisance abatement activities where such actions are mutually beneficial. The affected properties now have a positive future. "The property with the demolished house was turned over to the City for the future development of a garden," Mayor Infeld reports. "The two homes being repaired and upgraded remain under the ownership of the Land Bank and both houses will be sold to families."
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Cuyahoga Land Bank Partners with the International Services Center to Create a Home for RefugeesJanuary 18, 2012The Cuyahoga County Land Bank has partnered with the International Services Center (ISC) in order to provide housing for refugees settling in Northeast Ohio, starting with a home in Lakewood.
"We really saw this as the perfect partnership," said Gus Frangos, President of the Cuyahoga Land Bank. "The ISC has identified housing as one of the most challenging aspects of settling refugees in Northeast Ohio and we have housing on hand to supply." Placing refugees in housing has been challenging for the ISC as landlords are often reluctant to accept tenants with no credit history, work history in the United States or current employment. At the same time, the ISC has noted that refugees, who are anxious to lead normal lives after having lived in refugee camps and looking to settle down permanently, take great pride in their homes and help stabilize neighborhoods. The Discovering Home Program: A New Beginning kicked off with a home at 1443 Hopkins Avenue in Lakewood. The organizations, along with Fannie Mae, will invest in renovations of properties selected for the partnership. The refugees in ISC's program will also participate in the renovations, building a sense of pride and ownership through sweat equity. Rehabilitation work on the Hopkins Avenue property began in November with a projected move-in ready date of February 2012. The Cuyahoga Land Bank and ISC intend to complete seven units of refugee housing by the end of 2012. All of the units will be located in Cuyahoga County. "We have a unique opportunity for investing in lives that will establish roots in our local community," said Karin Wishner, Executive Director of International Services Center of Cleveland. "Refugees come with very little, but find a way around obstacles with a willingness to become self-sufficient."
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HUD, Cuyahoga Land Bank Renew Groundbreaking AgreementJanuary 9, 2012In the Spring, 2010, HUD and the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation, commonly known as the Cuyahoga Land Bank, forged a nationally groundbreaking agreement whereby HUD would transfer low-value, vacant and abandoned properties to the Cuyahoga Land Bank for $100. HUD ended up with these properties as a result of mortgage foreclosures guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). This agreement was considered essential to stabilizing real estate market values. Instead of transferring these properties to speculators and perpetuating the cycle of tax foreclosure and abandonment, HUD transfers these properties to the Cuyahoga Land Bank for $100 after paying all current taxes. After one full year, HUD and the Cuyahoga Land Bank have renewed the contract for another year based on the need and success of the relationship.
Frank Ford, Senior Vice President for Research and Development of Neighborhood Progress, Inc. hailed this renewal as an essential step toward stabilizing real-estate values in Cuyahoga County in removing blighted and abandoned properties from the market. "In order to preserve the value of the good apples in the basket, you have to remove and demolish the rotted apples," said Ford. The Cuyahoga Land Bank has a similar agreement with Fannie Mae. The new agreement calls for transferring HUD-owned properties in Cuyahoga County valued at under $30,000. Once acquired, the Cuyahoga Land Bank evaluates all properties, demolishes those that are beyond repair and preserves those homes capable of being rehabilitated. Any experienced rehabbers are welcome to acquire properties from the Cuyahoga Land Bank, provided they agree to an enforceable and detailed rehabilitation program. "This collaboration with the Cuyahoga Land Bank will help stem home price declines as we work to make these houses homes again," said HUD's Cheryl Walker, REO Division Director for HUD's Philadelphia office. "This partnership is about stabilizing neighborhoods hard-hit by foreclosure and preventing these homes from becoming blight on the community." Because these homes are dealt with in a responsible manner and neighborhood blight is being addressed by the Cuyahoga Land Bank, Walker said that extending the contract for another year would promote community development in many of Cuyahoga County's neighborhoods. "HUD encourages arrangements where blight can be eliminated, responsible dispositions occur and neighborhood stabilization is promoted," said Walker. "We very much appreciate our relationship with HUD and the highly efficient manner in which HUD and the Cuyahoga Land Bank are able to address some of the worst properties resulting from the real estate collapse," said Gus Frangos, President and General Counsel of the Cuyahoga Land Bank. "As a result of this agreement, we have been able to work with housing and economic development departments throughout the County to provide stabilization services." To date, the Cuyahoga Land Bank has acquired approximately 1,300 properties overall and has demolished 562 properties, with 184 additional properties pending or under contract. Additionally, approximately 184 properties have been rehabilitated through qualified rehabbers or are currently undergoing rehabilitation. Approximately 370 abandoned vacant lots have been acquired and transferred to city land banks for neighborhood side yard expansions. Chris Warren, Development Director for the City of Cleveland praised the Cuyahoga Land Bank efforts and its close partnership with the City of Cleveland. "The City of Cleveland initially paved the way for this agreement. The Cuyahoga Land Bank has taken it county-wide and we work very closely with the Cuyahoga Land Bank in stabilizing Cleveland's neighborhoods."
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Breaking Ground, Bridging CommunitiesDecember 28, 2011Shovels were hard at work on October 13, 2011, as ground was broken for the $5 million CircleEast Town homes on Lakeview Road-and the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corp. (Cuyahoga Land Bank) played a vital role in launching the 20-unit development: The Cuyahoga Land Bank not only provided key technical assistance, they also kicked in $1 million in federal funds from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP2), a grant program targeting neighborhoods severely challenged by foreclosures and blight. Cuyahoga County contributed another $1.9 million in NSP2 monies to the project, and the City of East Cleveland spent nearly $2 million for demolition. The nonprofit group University Circle, Inc. (UCI), current owners of the land where CircleEast will be built, will own and develop the property with the Finch Group, a Florida developer. PNC Bank is mortgage holder for the townhomes.
Speakers at the groundbreaking event included Chris Ronayne, president of UCI, who called the Land Bank "a brain trust to us." "This project is symbolic of what is possible when collaboration and thinking beyond geographic borders come together," Ronayne said. "We are excited to get this project started and provide additional living options for our growing residential base." The apartments, expected to rent for about $930 per month, will be completed in mid-2012 and will provide choice housing for medical staff of University Hospitals and other University Circle employees. "This project will serve as a catalyst for the revitalization of our city and a clear demonstration of regional collaboration," said Gary Norton, Mayor of East Cleveland, within whose borders CircleEast is located. "When we became a land bank, East Cleveland was the first city with whom we signed a memo of understanding," Gus Frangos, president of the Cuyahoga Land Bank, told the group, "and that meant a lot to us. It meant a commitment." "This is what it's all about-bringing community development and economic development together to create something meaningful," Frangos added. "I'm very grateful." |
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Grants $200,000 to Land BankDecember 20, 2011The Cuyahoga Land Bank enjoys a symbiotic relationship with the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office, working closely in tax foreclosures of abandoned, tax-delinquent properties. In summer of 2011, the Prosecutor endorsed the Land Bank's vital role in removing blight and assisting cities throughout the county by granting the organization $200,000 for demolitions.
Moving on tax foreclosures is a straightforward process: "We file suit against the [delinquent] owners on behalf of the Cuyahoga County Treasurer," says Colleen Majeski, chief foreclosure prosecutor. Monies collected from those suits are deposited into a fund known as the Delinquent Tax Assessment Collection, or D-TAC, and divided between the Prosecutor's and Treasurer's Offices to pay for the tax foreclosure and delinquent tax collection processes. It was D-TAC money that funded the $200,000 grant supporting the Land Bank's work. "Now, with all of these offices recognizing their common goal, the work of clearing away abandoned, condemned houses is more expedient," Majeski says. "That's good news for everyone involved. It helps eliminates blight, changes those properties in a positive way, and because it happens more quickly than in the past, it means a substantial savings to taxpayers."
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Berea's Metric SystemDecember 12, 2011
The City of Berea is in a unique position in Cuyahoga County: it is one of a few communities outside Cleveland with its own Water Department. That means every time it hires new water meter technicians, the new employees unlike their counterparts in other small cities must undergo special training in the installation and analysis of residential water meters. "What's more, the State requires the technicians to train in actual homes," says Rebecca Corrigan, executive director of The Berea Community Development Corporation. She found a solution with the Cuyahoga Land Bank, which happened to own two homes in Berea. "I thought to call the Land Bank because of its homes here, and it allowed us to use them for training," Corrigan says. "It's a very beneficial partnership for us." |
It's a Win-Win-Win Situation!December 5, 2011We know that not every offender spends time behind bars. In many instances-either as a condition of the sentence, or because the person cannot afford to pay a hefty fine-many convicted offenders are sentenced to "community service."
But what, exactly, does that mean? In Cuyahoga County, it means they are under the wing of Court Community Service (CCS), a quietly operating program that handled 18,000 court referrals in the last year alone, placing those offenders in some 300 non-profit organizations to perform 415,000 hours of community service. Had those agencies paid even minimum wage to the offenders, it would have cost taxpayers $6 million in wages. Typical assignments include removing graffiti in public places to performing yard work (usually through the Department of Aging), picking up litter along the freeway, and other unskilled labor. Now the Cuyahoga Land Bank has become a CCS partner. Starting in April of this year, CCS began assigning offenders to do yard work on properties owned by the Land Bank. "It's an association where everyone wins," says CCS's Paul Klodor. "The courts have one more option for offenders who shouldn't be incarcerated or can't pay their fines; non-profits get a helping hand without straining their budgets and the offenders have something healthy and positive in their lives." View CCS in action at Land Bank properties! |
Partner Feature: Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Researchers Examine the Cost of Foreclosure, Vacancy, and AbandonmentNovember 30, 2011Most northeast Ohioans are uncomfortably familiar with the visible and odious effects foreclosure, vacancy, and abandonment can have on neighborhoods. Indeed, the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation was established in response to the growing vacancy and abandonment problems in the neighborhoods of Cuyahoga County. But the negative impact vacancy and abandonment has on Cuyahoga County's housing market was unknown...until recently
This research highlights the important role played by Ohio's land banks in helping communities reduce blight. Once foreclosure rates return to more normal levels, Ohio's cities will still have to address the long-entrenched and longer-term problems of vacancy and abandonment. Better understanding the potential value gain from removing housing blight-a gain to individual homeowners and communities alike-may open the door to creative methods for funding demolition. Read the report here
Find other housing related research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland's website.
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Helping Special Needs Residents Find a HomeNovember 28, 2011Shelter is essential for all of us and the Housing First program, offered through the Cleveland Housing Network (CHN), provides that basic necessity for people with special needs. Since 2002, Housing First-a coalition of public and private organizations-has built or renovated more than 470 homes in Cuyahoga County for people with histories of long-term homelessness and disabilities. That number will more than double in the next several years.
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Land Bank's Reasearch, Funding Skills Win Fans in the Motor CityNovember 21, 2011When the Center for Community Progress drew up its agenda for Land Bank Conference 2011 in Detroit, planners knew they wanted to hear from the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corp. (CCLRC), commonly known as the Cuyahoga Land Bank.
Gus Frangos, CCLRC president, and Michael Schramm, director of IT and research, presented the group's use of advanced technology and how it helps drive the Land Bank's success. Part of their tactic is to democratize much of the data-that is, to put information about properties in front of people who can act on it, such as the county auditor or treasurer. CCLRC's information is part of "NEO CANDO," a data system managed by the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at Case Western Reserve University.
"Coordinating these diverse databases into a useable, strategic research tool results in strategic acquisitions of properties," Frangos told the group, "as well as strategic dispositions." That same afternoon, Robert Rink, vice president of legal affairs for the Land Bank, spoke on organizational and strategic factors affecting CCLRC's funding options. Attendees learned that the art of financing for larger land banks is enormously complex and leveraging funds depends on the form the land bank takes-i.e., whether it is established as a county department, a non-profit corporation, a private-sector enterprise or some other type of organization. It's also critical to clarify the land bank's stakeholders, jurisdiction, laws affecting it, public purposes and overall mission in order to transform revenue streams into bond-financed, front-loaded budgets. More than 430 county and land bank officials from across the country attended the conference, and reviews of the Land Bank's presentations were unanimous: "Solid stuff," wrote one attendee. Said another: "This is one of the best presentations I have seen in recent memory." |
Cuyahoga Consortium Awarded One of the Highest Per Capita Grants in U.S.November 18, 2011Just a few months after the Cuyahoga Land Bank opened its doors, the organization led a consortium that included Cuyahoga County, the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority and the City of Cleveland in applying for NSP-2 Stimulus funds for neighborhood stabilization.
Cuyahoga County's portion of the grant was relatively small, Herdeg explains, and will be applied to investor loan programs in five inner-ring communities, working hand-in-hand with another Cleveland neighborhoods. "That makes 20 targeted neighborhoods stabilized by these investor loans," Herdeg says. "This process [of securing this large award] is an excellent example of regional cooperation. This collaboration is precisely the kind of collaboration that Cuyahoga County's new government is working toward, and we hope to see more of it." Cuyahoga Land Bank President Gus Frangos agrees, adding that this award is "testament to county, city and agency cooperation. It also recognizes the Land Bank as an innovative non-profit organization with enhanced transactional capability of dealing with neighborhood blight." |
In Euclid, Blight Becomes MightNovember 14, 2011Land banks exist to prevent blight and save neighborhoods, and one of their most effective tactics is buying multiple properties, thereby boosting a community's stability.
Harper asked the demolition contractor to leave behind the giant sandstone blocks, and Harper was able to incorporate them into his landscaping design. "It's yet another example of what a person with foresight and vision can accomplish," Beno says. "We expect that this garden will be on the Euclid Pond and Garden Tour next June." In the meantime, he adds, the other three abandoned properties will soon be demolished and "will eventually get good re-use." |
Cuyahoga Land Bank demolishes 27 apartment buildings, 31 homes in East Cleveland to clear path for new developmentOctober 1, 2011
The largest scale joint demolition and deconstruction project that the Cuyahoga Land Bank has undertaken to date, this gathering of three redevelopment sites for new housing or small commercial and mixed use development is a prime example of strategic land assembly. The deconstruction element of this project creates eight jobs, each paying $10 an hour. Approximately 80% of the wood and 60% of the brick in these units will be diverted from land fills and recycled in the marketplace. Working with the City of East Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, the Cuyahoga Land Bank put forward approximately $1 million in Neighborhood Stabilization Funds (NSPII) in order to make this project a reality, thereby moving this land one step closer to productive use. We were fortunate to attract the attention of WCPN, WKSU, WTAM, The Plain Dealer, Channel 3, Channel 5, Channel 8 and Channel 19. These videos were taken by the Plain Dealer as we began the demolition: |
PBS Puts Its Spotlight on Cuyahoga Land BankOctober 1, 2011No one expected the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) would choose the Cuyahoga Land Bank to illustrate how America's cities are responding to the foreclosure crisis - but perhaps we should have. After all, with some 13,000 vacant or abandoned houses - and another 20,000 to 30,000 more expected in the next several years, according to Gus Frangos, president of the Land Bank - few cities illustrate the urgency of the country's housing problems more clearly than Cleveland.
So on July 5, 2011, viewers across the country watched anchor Gwen Ifill introduce "Raze the Roof: Cleveland Levels Vacant Homes to Revive Neighborhoods," an approach that PBS correspondent Paul Solman called a "test case of the tear-it-down approach." "Before you can stabilize something, you have to stop the hemorrhaging," Gus Frangos, president of the Cuyahoga Land Bank, explained to viewers.
The focal point of the program was the demolition of an abandoned house at 4071 East 146th Street - "a good house to demolish," says James Maher, field service supervisor for the Land Bank. "It sat across the street from a beautiful new school, probably the worst in a neighborhood that's been hard-hit by foreclosures, so it was a great house to take down." PBS's Solman spoke of neighborhoods "on the doorstep of doom..." because of house [like the demo house], "sitting idle for years...On this block, 22 of 49 peoperties are abandoned."
Viewers learned more about the Land Bank's productive approach to clearing abandoned properties for re-use and repurposing, thus preventing blight in Cleveland's neighborhoods. One of the most creative re-uses presented was Mansfield Frazier's one-acre vineyard, "Chateau Hough," on which he planted grapevines after the abandoned property was cleared. Frazier is working to grow the best grapes possible; if they meet winemaking standards, Frazier will be able to sell his grapes to wineries in northeast Ohio. |
Land Bank's Search and Rescue ConnectionOctober 1, 2011
"Thanks to the Land Bank, we now can go into real collapsed homes for our training," says Ron James, head of Urban Search and Rescue Operations for Region 2 (five counties in Northeast Ohio), the team that rescues people from collapsed structures. A building might collapse after a flood or other natural disaster, a fire or a terrorist attack. Until now, James was forced to use simulated training sites. "It's always been difficult to find real structures to train in," he says. "Now we have access to real-life collapsed structures before they are demolished." But isn't that dangerous?
A building collapse, James adds, is a "low-frequency, high-danger event, so it's very important to maintain our readiness. Getting inside actual, collapsing structures helps us stay prepared." |
Land Bank Eliminates Berea EyesoresOctober 1, 2011
The old Williams Ford and Serpentini Chevrolet buildings had been purchased by the City of Berea and the Ohio Dept. of Transportation (ODOT) years ago, to make way for a new freeway overpass as part of the redevelopment project. But demolishing such a massive property is a huge undertaking and hugely expensive. Enter the Cuyahoga Land Bank, which will fund the demolition with $180,000 in federal HUD funds from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program 1, originally awarded to the Cuyahoga County Department of Development and passed on to the Land Bank. "The demolition of these buildings will make more than five acres of land available for redevelopment," said Berea Mayor Cyril M. Kleem. "Our overall plan is to redevelop the entire North End of Berea."
This dual demolition is the Land Bank's largest project to date. The contract was awarded to Lightning Demolition of Cleveland. |
Cuyahoga Land Bank Makes National News!September 1, 2011
Wells Fargo, working through the REO Clearinghouse (REO CH), began donating vacant and foreclosed low asset properties to the Cuyahoga Land Bank along with a contribution toward demolition equal to $3,500 per property in their NSP 2 target areas and $7,500.00 per property in the rest of Cuyahoga County. Bank of America recently entered into a similar agreement with the Cuyahoga Land Bank to donate up to 100 vacant and foreclosed low asset properties following the same monetary donation structure as the Wells Fargo agreement. These recent partnerships added to our growing list, which includes similar relationships with Fannie Mae, HUD and JP Morgan Chase.
The national press agreed that our efforts to eliminate blight through these partnerships is worthy of note. In early August, Bloomberg came to Cleveland to discuss our partnership with Bank of America. Then Time picked up on the story and did a series of pieces on the topic, including a story on why demolition is one of the tools to fight the effects of foreclosure, a photo essay on demolition and TimeVideo on our demolition strategy, which is being considered as a national policy in Washington. NPR National also found our partnerships with these banks newsworthy, in addition to highlighting other innovative solutions such as encouraging community gardens and expanding yards for neighbors. |
Back to the Future: The Land Bank Assists in a Historical Home RestorationSeptember 1, 2011
That was the year Asa Upson and his wife, Chloe, migrated from Connecticut to farm the rich soil of the Western Reserve. Their gabled farmhouse in Shaker Heights is one of the oldest homes in Cuyahoga County, and when the Claytons saw it, they knew it would be theirs. Like the Upsons in the 1830s, Derek and Jennifer also had moved to Cleveland; they moved here so that Derek could work with "Iron Chef" Michael Symon as executive chef in Lola's Restaurant. They settled four years ago in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood while they got to know Cleveland, and were in no hurry to buy a house until their son, Sullivan, was born.
The Asa Upson house suits its new owners perfectly, down to some quirky rooms-but that's part of what appealed to the Claytons, who had no intention of living in a subdivision where the houses looked alike. They wanted to live in a vintage, authentic neighborhood, close to Derek's work and the amenities of an urban community.
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Land Bank Helps Transform Lease Purchasers Into HomeownersSeptember 1, 2011
Now those families can celebrate, thanks to a $500,000 loan from the Cuyahoga Land Bank to CHN to capitalize its revolving mortgage loan fund. Lending the money to CHN at 2.5 percent interest for 10 years enables CHN to provide short-term mortgages (two to three years) of approximately $10,000 to jump-start the families' homeowning dreams.
The Lease Purchase program has been a success since its inception, with 90 percent of CHN's buyers completing the program and purchasing their homes before the credit crisis--some 400 new homeowners. "Without Lease Purchase, I would definitely not be a homeowner today," said owner Gloria Cowsette, who nurtured her home for 15 years before taking ownership in 2003. "I've been on the job for 24 years, and I feel confident that I am well set to succeed as a homeowner." |
How Cleveland's Gardens GrowSeptember 1, 2011
Rescuing and reusing these items not only will save the gardeners valuable dollars, it also "adds so much character and history to the gardens," says Diane Morgan, garden leader of NxGen Preserve, whose volunteers salvaged plants and pavers from a property on West 56th Street in April. Those materials have been recycled in gardens on West 57th Street and the NxGen Preserve 63 on West 63rd. Cleveland's community gardens network is working with the Land Bank on the possibility of expanding the program citywide. |
Planting Veggies, Cultivating a CommunityAugust 1, 2011
The Cuyahoga Land Bank had purchased a condemned house on Warrendale Road from the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for $100, demolished the home and deeded it to the City of South Euclid. City officials decided to offer the plot as a community garden and from there, a citywide gardening program developed, with outcomes that none of the participants had imagined. "It's a gorgeous space now," says Sally Martin, South Euclid Housing Director. "It's very Williamsburg-esque, with raised planting beds, a pergola, roses, special grasses, a sitting area - a five-star experience for the neighborhood. It's an amenity, something they can be proud of."
And the benefits keep coming: the city is working with Notre Dame College to develop a garden aimed at kids. A meditation garden is in the works, and Whole Foods provides staff hours and in-kind supplies to help the gardeners. "One little boy runs out of his house whenever we drive up and says, `Let me show you my garden!'" Martin says. "We've seen ownership by the residents this is something they can be proud of, and the Land Bank's assistance was catalytic. Now that we have success, we can use that to leverage other dollars in the future." "Without a doubt," she adds, "this has been the happiest thing I've done in my job." |
Landbank Keeps It Local, Puts the Brakes on Slum LandlordsAugust 1, 2011
Instead, the dilapidated properties will be either rehabbed or demolished. That's good news for Cleveland. "I'm very happy with the way it turned out," Gus Frangos, Land Bank president, told reporters when the agreement was announced. "HUD has now agreed to refrain from the practice of indiscriminately selling low-value properties, which promotes unwholesome speculation in real estate markets."
The Land Bank will focus on homes valued at $20,000 or less to get them off the market and estimates at least 80% of homes acquired by the organization might be demolished. "This is a victory for Cuyahoga County," said U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who had urged HUD to reach this agreement. "As we work to rebuild our communities devastated by the housing crisis, it's critical that our efforts aren't undermined by out-of-state speculators." HUD will offer eight to 10 foreclosed properties to the Land Bank each month. |
Wells Fargo, Bank of America Donating Properties to Cuyahoga Land BankAugust 1, 2011
A few weeks ago, Wells Fargo, working through the REO Clearinghouse (REO CH), began donating vacant and foreclosed low asset properties to the Cuyahoga Land Bank along with a contribution toward demolition equal to $3,500 per property in their NSP 2 target areas and $7,500.00 per property in the rest of Cuyahoga County. Bank of America recently entered into a similar agreement with the Cuyahoga Land Bank to donate up to 100 vacant and foreclosed low asset properties following the same monetary donation structure as the Wells Fargo agreement. "The Cuyahoga Land Bank is thrilled to be adding Bank of America, along with Wells Fargo, to a continually growing list of partners in our efforts to eliminate blight and return properties in Cuyahoga County to productive use," said Gus Frangos, President and General Counsel for the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation. "Each partnership we are able to establish provides us with more resources to tackle the issues of blight created by foreclosure and abandonment within our communities." The mission of the Cuyahoga Land Bank is to strategically acquire properties, return them to productive use, reduce blight, increase property values, support community goals and improve the quality of life for county residents. Wells Fargo and Bank of America join Fannie Mae, HUD and JP Morgan Chase on the Cuyahoga Land Bank's list of revitalization and demolition partners by supplementing the Land Bank's own funding sources. This allows the Cuyahoga Land Bank to aggressively tear down more blighted structures that negatively impact property values. In turn, this will improve the quality of life in Cuyahoga County as well as rehabilitate and place back on the market homes that retain value and the promise of a second life. "As a Cuyahoga Land Bank Board Member, I believe that these partnerships with Bank of America and Wells Fargo align with our mission and are going to help us eliminate blighted and nuisance conditions, which, in turn speeds up our ability to put more properties back into productive use," said Cleveland City Councilman Tony Brancatelli. "As a local elected official, I am happy to take part in the establishment of public/private partnerships that will have such a positive impact and help re-imagine our communities." "Wells Fargo is pleased to have been the first bank working with the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation to donate both properties and funds to the Land Bank," said Russ Cross, Midwest regional servicing director for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. This year, we have donated 26 properties and $127,000, and we will look at additional properties that we can contribute to the Cuyahoga County Land Bank. This reflects our longstanding commitment to giving back to the communities where our customers, team members and business associates live and work."
According to Wells Fargo's Cross, local, collaborative approaches like the Land Bank also can help lead to national solutions. Wells Fargo's engagement with the Cuyahoga County Land Bank is an excellent fit for the company's recently announced national alliance with the U.S. Conference of Mayors focused on issues including property disposition and community development. "Communities need a straightforward and streamlined way to identify foreclosed properties from financial institutions like ours, and we can be a source of funding to finance some revitalization activities," Cross noted. "The Cuyahoga County Land Bank is a great example of the kind of best practices that we can share with mayors across the nation."
"Bank of America is committed to a comprehensive neighborhood stabilization approach to help support our customers and the communities we serve and live in. This program builds on the initiatives we already have taken in homeownership retention, foreclosure prevention and neighborhood stabilization and revitalization." In addition to this partnership with the Cuyahoga Land Bank, Bank of America's homeownership retention and foreclosure prevention initiatives in Cleveland include a recent mortgage modification outreach event where many customers responded to invitations to meet with homeownership retention specialists over a three-day period. This initiative provided a convenient opportunity for customers who are having difficulty making their mortgage payments to receive face-to-face counseling, on-site processing and underwriting of mortgage modification requests and other assistance. |
Partner Feature: CASH Launches New Program to Fix Up and Sell Bank-Owned Homes to New OwnersAugust 1, 2011This story was originally printed in Cleveland Action to Support Housing's e-newsletter
Now, thanks to a new initiative has been launched by the nonprofit Cleveland Action to Support Housing (CASH), this bank-owned home in Cleveland will go from being an eyesore - and a symbol of the national foreclosure crisis - to something the neighbors can be proud of. "Through fixing up and reselling foreclosed homes to new homeowners, we're making a critical investment in the city of Cleveland's neighborhoods," says Marcia Nolan, Executive Director of CASH, a nonprofit organization with a thirty-year history of revitalizing neighborhoods through repair and rehabilitation lending. "This is a targeted response to the foreclosure crisis, which has created an oversupply of vacant homes, depressing values and discouraging investment." Initially, CASH's foreclosure-rehab initiative will fix up two homes in west side neighborhoods. The pilot homes are located in Westown (near West Park) and Tremont, two stable communities where focused improvements can be used to leverage additional investment. CASH selected the homes based upon the opportunity to make an impact on the entire neighborhood. CASH will acquire and fix up the homes using stimulus funds awarded to the city by the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). Once the homes are refurbished, they'll be offered for sale to qualified buyers. Purchasers must earn less than 120 percent of Northeast Ohio's annual median income to be eligible (approximately $54,000 for an individual). The rehabbed home at 3455 West 122nd St. will be priced at $70,000, making it affordable to a range of buyers. The Cuyahoga Land Bank, a nonprofit that acquires foreclosed homes from lenders, has donated the homes to CASH. If successful, the group plans to expand the program next year, with the goal of rehabbing additional homes in several Cleveland neighborhoods.
"This house will be inexpensive to maintain, because it will be rehabbed to energy-efficient standards," says Terry May, Construction Specialist with CASH. "We're adding green features such as a high-efficiency furnace and insulation that will raise its R value to R-38." The foreclosed property in Tremont, a traditional, front porch Colonial at 2499 West 7th Street, will be renovated into a two bedroom, two and a half bath contemporary home featuring a functional, efficient floor plan, a master bedroom with adjoining luxury bath, and a sleek, modern kitchen. The Westown home is located adjacent to Variety Village, an area of Lorain Ave. where focused investment, including renovation of the historic Variety Theatre into a multi-use venue for movies, plays and special events, is being led by Westtown Community Development Corporation. The Tremont home is located adjacent to the new, mixed-income Tremont Pointe development and a host of attractive neighborhood amenities, including Lincoln Park and Steelyard Commons. For more information, please contact:
Marcia Nolan, Executive Director |
Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation - The Beginning, The Present, and Beyond, 2009-2011July 14, 2011In the two years since its formation as a tool to battle the foreclosure crisis, the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation, commonly referred to as the Land Bank, has acquired more than 1,200 abandoned properties, forged groundbreaking partnerships with Fannie Mae, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and leading banks, and has been recognized as a national role model for other communities. After two years, there are agreements in place that are still unique on a national level. These relationships have now turned into ongoing partnerships. The Land Bank's 2009 - 2011 Report, released today, details the impressive progress made by the innovative, non-profit community improvement corporation since enabling legislation was signed into law in January 2009. The report, written by Dr. Dennis Keating, Director of the Master of Urban Planning, Design and Development Program at Cleveland State University, highlights the Land Bank's most significant accomplishments over the last two years.
Besides removing neighborhood eyesores that tend to attract vandals and other criminal elements, the Land Bank's acquisition of such properties helps thwart speculators who snap up foreclosed homes in hopes of "flipping" them for a quick profit. Dr. Keating notes in the report that speculation was a major factor in the collapse of the local real estate market. Fannie Mae and HUD are aiding in the effort to reduce real estate speculation by turning over foreclosed homes to the Land Bank for nominal sums, rather than making them available to house flippers. Leading mortgage lenders Wells Fargo and Bank of America have also just recently agreed to donate foreclosed properties to the Land Bank based on the Land Bank's demonstrated skill and capacity developed in just two short years. This never would have been dreamed of two years ago. Since the creation of the Cuyahoga County Land Bank in 2009, three Ohio counties - Trumbull, Mahoning and Lucas - have established land banks. Two others - Montgomery and Hamilton - are in the process of developing theirs. Localities in other states have also looked to the Cuyahoga Land Bank while formulating their entities. "The CCLRC is the first of its kind of 'land bank' in the nation and has served as both a statewide and national model," Dr. Keating wrote. In a foreword to the report, Land Bank President Gus Frangos points with pride to the organization's many achievements and concludes: "The CCLRC is a valuable tool in positively dealing with the fallout from the real estate market collapse. The CCLRC's professional staff is making a difference day in and day out." Citing the CCLRC as a satisfying accomplishment, Senator Tom Patton states, "CCLRC has kept its promises - and then some." His voice joins those of many other civic, city of Cleveland, county, suburban, and legislative leaders in the report, all praising the Land Bank for its contribution to helping combat the fallout from the foreclosure crisis. "We are proud of what we have accomplished since opening our doors in 2009," said Frangos, "There is still much more to do and we are committed to making a positive, lasting impact on Cuyahoga County through our efforts." |
Cuyahoga Land Bank Board President and Cleveland Councilman Tony Brancatelli as well as Cuyahoga Land Bank Board Member and Cleveland Chief of Regional Development Chris Warren joined Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine at on press conference on Friday, February 10th in front of foreclosed, abandoned home on E. 144th Street in Cleveland. They gathered together for DeWine's announcement of his commitment to spend a portion of the money resulting from a 49 state settlement with the nation's five largest mortgage lenders and servicers on demolition.
At the press conference in Cleveland, DeWine committed to working with organizations like the Cuyahoga Land Bank to spend $75 million specifically on demolition. He expects millions of that chuck to come to Cuyahoga County and hopes to leverage the money with local matches.
"I think Ohio is leading this effort to fight foreclosure," said DeWine. "No other state has made this kind of commitment to demolition."
A new study by Cleveland Fed Economists Stephan Whitaker and Tom Fitzpatrick, "The Impact of Vacant, Tax-Delinquent, and Foreclosed Property on Sales Prices of Neighboring Homes," is the first to use vacancy and property tax delinquency data in combination with foreclosure data to obtain a more accurate measurement of property distress on the sales prices of neighboring homes. Generally, the researchers found that each property that has been in foreclosure at some point over the past 12 months lowers the value of all homes within 500 feet of it by an average of about two percent. But when foreclosed properties are also tax delinquent or vacant, they lower the value of surrounding homes by seven to eight percent. And the closer a neighboring property is to the affected house, the greater the impact: the researchers found average impacts increase from seven to eight percent to 16 to 22 percent per property.
Is there a silver lining to this bad news? Perhaps. Using these impacts as baselines, the authors are able to estimate the value of neighboring homes that could be recaptured by removing blighted properties. In aggregate, they estimate that eliminating all housing blight associated with vacancies, foreclosures, and property tax delinquency would result in a gain of over $100,000,000 to housing values in Cuyahoga County. This gain would immediately be realized by neighboring properties, but would eventually add to the County tax base as well. Of course, eliminating that many properties is unrealistic, as there are almost 70,000 properties that are either vacant, tax delinquent, recently foreclosed, or some combination thereof in any given month. But by focusing on removing, say, the 2,000 properties that have the largest negative impact on surrounding home values, more than $26.5 million in value can be gained.
Recently, however, Housing First ran into a snag in its progress: they needed to purchase a building they were rehabbing at West 95th Street and Lorain Avenue, but their timing was off. First, they were required by federal regulations to complete an environmental review of the property. Time was running out; their purchase options were about to expire-before the environmental review was complete-and CHN would lose their chance to purchase the building for Housing First.
Enter the Cuyahoga Land Bank, which stepped in as interim owner and bought the building on CHN's behalf for $360,000. A few months later, CHN received the tax credit allocation that allowed them to move forward with the project.
Specifically, conference planners for the group, based in Washington, D.C., wanted to hear about the Land Bank's state-of-the-art research capabilities, which have become a national model since the Land Bank's start-up just two years ago, and its creative funding strategies.
The Land Bank takes that technology to an even more meaningful level by connecting NEO CANDO with "The Eye," CCLRC's own in-house system for profiling properties. With that system, the Land Bank can "see" at a glance a property's characteristics, liens, code violations and much more.
As a result of Cuyahoga Land Bank's leadership, the consortium was awarded $41 million in stabilization funds, one of the highest grant per capita in the country. "We're very pleased at the success of this partnership," says Paul Herdeg, housing manager for Cuyahoga County. "The application was competitive, so we're grateful the Cuyahoga Land Bank was able to lead us in such a strong application."
That was the situation in Euclid last spring, when the Cuyahoga Land Bank acquired four properties for $1 each under agreements with Fannie Mae and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), then turned the properties over to the City of Euclid for rehabbing.
So far, one property located on North Street already has been transformed into a beautiful garden for the entire neighborhood to enjoy. "This is the property that worked out the best for us," says Paul Beno, Euclid's planning and zoning commissioner. "Freddie Harper, the new owner, was working the land even before he owned the property, which by then was a vacant lot."
Last week, we began to reimagine seven acres in East Cleveland, when we started the demolition of 27 apartment buildings and 31 homes that had long stood vacant and abandoned on Hartshorn Avenue, in addition to the deconstruction on five apartment buildings on Eddy Road.
But the PBS crews wanted to show more than houses being torn down: they wanted to illuminate Cleveland's revival, with the work of the Cuyahoga Land Bank as one of the more creative drivers of that movement.
"We've never found ourselves in this situation before," added Frank Ford, senior vice president for research and development of Neighborhood Progress Inc., referring to the inevitable demolitions of those abandoned properties that cannot be rehabbed. "[The magnitude] required a different strategy."
But Solman's doomsday assessment was countered by anecdotes such as the one offered by Cleveland Housing Court Judge Ray Pianka, whose quest to hold negligent landlords accountable reached as far away as Cairo, Egypt, where he caught up with a Coptic bishop who owned property in Cleveland. "The bishop pled no contest, repaired the property and was fined," Judge Pianka said - case closed.
We take it for granted that firefighters know what to do when they rescue someone from a collapsed building - but how do they train for such a job?
"It is," James says, laughing. "That's why we train on it." If James looks at the way a structure has collapsed, it gives him some idea of the danger involved in going inside. "There are lean-to collapses, pancake collapses where a building just falls straight down on itself, and several other kinds," he explains. What's unknown is what's inside, such as refrigerators or beds, which allow people to survive because they create 'livable space.'"
Berea was ready to create a new Uptown District - a blending of homes, small commercial businesses, entertainment spots and green space - but one factor stood in the way: a pair of vacant auto dealerships on Front Street.
Gus Frangos, President of the Land Bank, agreed that the Berea demolition was a worthy effort. "This project is squarely in our mission as it makes ready land for redevelopment which will promote jobs," he said. "Mayor Kleem's leadership and insight on this land was very strategic. This is good, developable property."
The Cuyahoga Land Bank has recently been featured in the national press for our work capturing foreclosed, vacant properties and quickly turning that land back to productive use. This summer, we established partnerships with Wells Fargo and Bank of America, which allows us to take low asset, foreclosed properties from these banks and either demolish these largely devalued properties or renovate them and put them back on the market.
"Each partnership we are able to establish provides us with more resources to tackle the issues of blight created by foreclosure and abandonment within our communities," said Cuyahoga Land Bank President Gus Frangos.
Sometimes, a family's search for their dream home brings them to another family's dream, from another time. For Derek and Jennifer Clayton, the fantasy started nearly two centuries ago, in 1836.
At that point, the Claytons had to step up their search, and while they had come to love Detroit Shoreway, they were smitten by the farmhouse. Its previous owners had donated it to the Cleveland Restoration Society, which partnered with the Cuyahoga Land Bank to restore and sell the property. A number of "point of sale" violations had been assessed by Shaker Heights, and the Land Bank's support enabled the Society to correct the violations, make energy-efficiency improvements, research the home's history and market it for sale. The Claytons then purchased it with a historic preservation covenant to ensure its future preservation. The 
If anything is "off" about the Asa Upson farmhouse, it's the tiny kitchen-a bit of a dilemma for a professional chef. Derek and Jennifer may expand the kitchen someday, but for now it's serviceable. They're going to take some time to enjoy their new home and its unique features, including original windows and doors, original wide-plank flooring in an upstairs bedroom and its still-intact gables. This fall, they will harvest the bounty from their large vegetable and herb garden-"farming" the land, just as Asa and Chloe Upson did in the 1830s.
The housing crisis has meant millions of prospective homebuyers have been shut out of their dreams of owning a home. None were more disappointed than those 150 to 200 families participating in the nationally recognized Lease Purchase program, sponsored by the Cleveland Housing Network (CHN), many of whom had passed financial scrutiny and were ready to step into their new roles as homeowners.
The Lease Purchase program has been a success since its inception, with 90 percent of CHN's buyers completing the program and purchasing their homes before the credit crisis--some 400 new homeowners. "Without Lease Purchase, I would definitely not be a homeowner today," said owner Gloria Cowsette, who nurtured her home for 15 years before taking ownership in 2003. "I've been on the job for 24 years, and I feel confident that I am well set to succeed as a homeowner."
Community gardeners in the Stockyard, Clark-Fulton and Brooklyn Centre neighborhoods now have a new source for their plants and gardening materials. With help from the Cuyahoga County Land Bank, a new garden-recycling program allows volunteers to salvage flower beds, landscaping stones, pots and other plantings and materials from properties where homes are being demolished.
Community gardens have been a part of city neighborhoods for years now and what began as a solution to a vacant lot has developed into one of South Euclid's most appealing programs.
The Land Bank then expedited a second garden, this one on Colony Road. "It's more country-like in design," Martin says, "with shredded mulch and paths." Like the Warrendale project, Colony Garden has brought together neighbors who have lived near each other for as long as 20 years, but never met. One couple even decided to buy a house nearby because they wanted to live close to the garden and help tend it with their neighbors.
An agreement finalized last July between the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Cuyahoga County Land Bank will prevent hundreds of severely neglected HUD properties in Cleveland from being sold to negligent owners who have no interest in improving city neighborhoods.
Under the agreement, the Land Bank can purchase HUD homes for $100 each during a first-look period if the homes are valued at $20,000 or less. Likewise, they can buy HUD homes valued between $20,001 and $100,000 at a 30% discount before the homes are offered to the public. If the homes go on the market and don't sell within 60 days, the Land Bank can purchase them at a 50% discount.
The Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation (Cuyahoga Land Bank) has gained some welcome collaboration in the battle to alleviate the impact of foreclosure and abandonment in Cuyahoga County from and Bank of America and Wells Fargo.
Wells Fargo, Robert Klein of Safeguard Properties and REO CH have been helping to keep servicers informed about the opportunities to work more closely with community based organizations like the Cuyahoga Land Bank. After introducing the Cuyahoga Land Bank to many of the servicers with distressed assets in the county's neighborhoods, Wells Fargo asked REO CH to help negotiate and manage a program that would enable them to make low value properties available to the Cuyahoga Land Bank, even when the property is eligible for demolition. After agreeing to terms and conditions, Wells Fargo went on to donate 26 properties over the past several weeks, most with a contribution toward demolition.
"Unfortunately, many homeowners faced with unemployment, underemployment and other economic hardships have transitioned to alternative housing situations, in many cases leaving behind vacant and deteriorating properties that can cause neighborhood blight," said Rebecca Mairone, national mortgage outreach executive for Bank of America Home Loans. "We are addressing this growing inventory of abandoned, uninhabitable properties with this program in Cleveland, and similar programs we have announced in Chicago and Detroit."
The two bedroom house on West 122nd Street doesn't look like much - the lawn is unkempt, the porch cries out for fresh paint and the front door is boarded up. Yet a closer inspection reveals a bevy of hidden charms, including leaded glass windows, oak floors and built-in cabinets.
These homes will be unveiled as affordable, green homes when the work is complete. Improvements slated for 3455 West 122nd St. include new siding, windows, garage, mechanicals, kitchens and bathrooms. Refinished wood floors and a master bedroom with his-and-hers closets are also part of re-do. And the front porch will finally get the scrape-and paint job it deserves.
Funded primarily by penalties and interest paid on delinquent property taxes, the Land Bank's aim is to acquire abandoned, neglected properties that blight entire neighborhoods and lower home values. Several hundred properties acquired by the Land Bank have been turned over to cities for redevelopment, and the rest have been or are scheduled to be rehabbed or demolished. Furthermore, demolition has often resulted in innovative land reuse through the creation of urban gardens, property expansions for current homeowners and the holding of properties through strategic land assembly for future development.